CLEVELAND — There will not be an offseason quarterback controversy for Browns GM Andrew Berry.
When the Browns play their next meaningful football game, Berry expects Baker Mayfield will be the quarterback taking the snap. On Tuesday, Berry held his year-end news conference and said that he “fully expects” Mayfield to be the 2022 starting quarterback.
“We have been with Baker for a long period of time at this point,” Berry said. “We know his work ethic, we know his drive and we have seen him as a talented passer in this league. We are looking forward to him getting healthy and continuing to make improvements. We expect him to bounce back next year.”
Mayfield, who struggled to recapture a solid 2020 season that resulted in the Browns winning a playoff game, wore a sling at times during the season. The injury also forced Mayfield to miss a game in October before being ruled out for Sunday's season finale to prepare for the offseason surgery.
Whether the Browns add another quarterback to the roster remains to be seen.
“I have mentioned this before in terms of how we look at the offseason, we do not go into it and say, ‘Hey, we are just going to target certain positions,’” Berry said. “We scout and look at player availability as if we have an expansion team so the way we go about adding competition or improving the talent base and the roster is largely, maybe not wholly, but largely independent of who is currently on the team.”
With the Browns failing to reach the playoffs, whether the club should have given Mayfield time to rehab his shoulder will remain an unanswered question.
“Baker fought through those injuries, was medically cleared to play each of those weeks, practiced throughout those weeks and felt good,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “I do not think Baker is using any of that as an excuse, and also, not denying that guys play through injuries. He pushed through it. Again, I know there are plays and moments that he is going to want back. That is part of playing football, playing the quarterback position and trying to get better.”
While Berry might not be in the market for a starting quarterback in 2022, he will have to make some roster decisions and who to offer contract extensions to, including Mayfield, whose contract expires at the end of 2022. Berry was asked whether he feels comfortable playing Mayfield on an expiring contract.
“We have a lot of guys who will have gone into their final [contract] year or something along those lines,” Berry said. “That is not something that really goes into the calculus for us. Every year, you will have guys on expiring deals.”