Cleveland Browns: Baker Mayfield injury could be worse than we thought

Baker Mayfield injured his hand during the Cleveland Browns Week 13 loss. He came back in the game but could the injury be more severe than it seemed?

It was a freak play that could have a lasting effect on the Cleveland Browns and their young quarterback. Baker Mayfield injured his throwing hand when he hit it on the helmet of a Pittsburgh Steelers defender.

The play came just before the half and Mayfield quickly headed to the locker room. Garrett Gilbert came into the game for the second-year signal-caller and threw two incompletions before the intermission.

Head coach Freddie Kitchens originally said that Mayfield was still being evaluated and won’t come out to start the second half but then Mayfield did emerge and came into the game.

When he was back on the field, Mayfield was wearing a glove on the injured hand. It didn’t look to hurt his ability to throw it, but when leaving the stadium he was seen with the hand heavily wrapped up.

The Browns hopes for a playoff run took a huge hit on Sunday as the Steelers win meant Cleveland is now 5-7 on the season. As for Pittsburgh, they’re now 7-5 and in a great position to get the final Wild Card spot in the AFC.

Cleveland still has plenty to play for as they look for their first winning season since 2007. In order to do that, they need to win the final four games of the season — two of which come against the Bengals who they swept in 2018.

Even if they don’t win all four games, they do still have a shot at going 8-8, which would at least be their first year without a losing record since that same season.

Either way, the feat would be nearly impossible without No. 6 being healthy. And if that wrap on his hand is any indication, he might not be 100 percent heading into the final quarter of the season.

We should know more in a couple of days but the fact that he did finish the game is encouraging.