Cleveland Browns place Baker Mayfield on COVID-19 reserve list
By Randy Gurzi
Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield on COVID-19 reserve list
The Cleveland Browns don’t play on Sunday but if they did, they would be without quarterback Baker Mayfield. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network tweeted out early on Sunday that Mayfield was placed on the COVID-19 reserve list.
With the current pandemic, the league created this list for teams to be able to place players on a reserve without having to eat up a roster spot to replace them. The good news, however, is that Mayfield might not be on the list long.
Jake Trotter of ESPN tweeted out shortly after Rapoport that Mayfield did not come down with the virus, but instead was around someone who has. According to Trotter, this means Mayfield could be cleared by the time Cleveland faces the Houston Texans in Week 10.
Baker Mayfield himself has not tested positive for Covid-19. Came into contact with a staff member who did. Mayfield could be cleared to practice as soon as Wednesday morning if he continues to test negative. #Browns
— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) November 8, 2020
If Mayfield doesn’t test negative, the Browns would be forced to turn to Case Keenum as the starting quarterback. While it’s easy to think there’s a serious downgrade from the starter to the backup, Cleveland is actually very fortunate to have a capable reserve behind Mayfield.
Keenum has 62 career starts and spent the 2017 season with current Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski in Minnesota. That year, Keenum was 11-3 as the starter, and the Vikings made it to the NFC Championship Game. In 2020, Keenum has appeared in one game and was 5-of-10 for 46 yards.
Bye week report card, LBs. dark. Next
Clearly, the team would prefer to roll with Mayfield and chances are, he will be good to go for Week 10. But the good news is, they have someone capable of guiding the offense, even though he’s not as explosive, for the short term.