4 reasons Baker Mayfield has seen his numbers go down

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Sep 19, 2021; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) walks to the medical tent following an injury during the second quarter against the Houston Texans at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports /

Baker Mayfield may not be healthy and it affects his throwing

By now everyone knows that Baker Mayfield suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder in the second quarter of the game against the Houston Texans September 19. According to the Johns Hopkins Medicine Website, the labrum is a piece of cartilage attached to the rim of the shoulder socket that helps keep the ball of the joint in place. A torn labrum means that some portion of that cartilage has been torn. It can be torn in different places and to a different degree or severity.

Mayfield’s torn labrum is said to be in his left shoulder, which is not his throwing shoulder. Hence it doesn’t directly affect his arm strength, presumably.

This writer is not an expert on medicine but does try to decipher the medical literature as best as possible. In some cases, apparently, the torn labrum does not interfere with the ability to throw a football.

Partial evidence for that statement is provided by the fact that Brandon Weedon had a small torn labrum in his throwing shoulder his entire NFL career, and as far as this fan is aware, it was never corrected via surgery. Say what you want about The Weed’s quarterbacking ability, but he had a Howitzer.

Mayfield’s injury does require him to wear some sort of harness, however, which may have some unknown effect on his throwing motion. In short, the harness may change the way he throws the football even if the torn labrum does not. This is plausible though not proven.

Versus Minnesota, Mayfield was visibly inaccurate with his passes and it is appropriate to question whether something is physically wrong. This issue has been raised in Twitter, resulting in accusations of disloyalty and various forms of blasphemy. No it is not.

Look, Mayfield was 15 for 33 (45.5%) for 155 yards. Those are low numbers. If anything, understanding what’s going on might result in the fans having a bit more patience. The eyeball test says he is throwing a good ball but it is not up to his usual standards of accuracy.

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