BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Baker Mayfield returned to practice Thursday, a day after resting injuries to his knees, foot, and left shoulder.
Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said Thursday they are planning for Mayfield to play against the 0-8-1 Lions.
“He’s a guy that wants to be there for his teammates and play every week,” Van Pelt said. “It’s crappy that he is as sore as he is in multiple areas, but it shows how much he loves his teammates and wants to play and be out there on Sundays.”
Mayfield appeared to be unaffected by the injuries as he zipped passes during the portion of practice open to reporters. He also wasn’t under any duress.
Van Pelt expects that Mayfield won’t be limited Sunday against Detroit, despite looking very limited against the Patriots.
“I know you want to talk about injuries. He has a bunch of them,” Van Pelt said. “They all affect everything. It all adds up over time. I think he will be effective on Sunday, effective enough to play.”
On Wednesday, Mayfield spoke about how this is the most “beat up” he has been in his career and Van Pelt acknowledged the injuries are affecting Mayfield’s play and what they can call.
“Yeah, it’s definitely going to affect him, a lot of guys are affected with a lot of things at this point in the season,” Van Pelt said. “That’s just part of the deal of living in the NFL world.”
Mayfield suffered a contusion to his right knee in the third quarter of Sunday’s 45-7 loss at new England which forced him to miss the remainder of the game, which was already out of hand.
Mayfield tore his left labrum in Week 2 against the Texans while trying to make a tackle following an interception. He dislocated his shoulder in a blowout los to the cardinals on October 17 that forced him to miss a win over the Broncos four days later, which ended his consecutive starts streak at 53, including playoffs, which was the second-longest in franchise history.
November 7 at Cincinnati, Mayfield suffered a contusion to his left knee and his left foot began bothering him in a 41-16 victory.
“He is as tough of a mental guy as I have been around,” Van Pelt said. “He does a great job of trying to get healthy and taking care of his body each week. I think once you get to gameday, the juices get flowing, and those injuries, they are sore, but they are not as sore with all of the adrenaline of the game. Hopefully, he will continue to heal and feel better each week, but it is tough, and he is battling through, much like a lot of our guys right now.”
Mayfield has thrown just nine touchdown passes this season and he’s already been sacked 26 times. He was sacked 26 times during the regular season a year ago.