Browns offensive coordinator Todd Haley and Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams wanted to turn each other black and blue on Monday, after a defensive player made contact with quarterback Baker Mayfield in practice.
Mayfield was into it.
“It is just a fiery competition,” Mayfield told reporters on Tuesday. “You want practice to be like that. You want to challenge each other. That is the type of competition that you need every day if you want to see your team get better. You get two sides of the ball that care about it that much, it is important to you. That is the way that it should be, but there are certain measures that you need to take to protect your quarterbacks. That is the emphasis of it.”
The fun began when Haley reacted to the hit on Mayfield by yelling, “Don’t touch the f--king quarterback in practice! Good teams don’t do it!”
Williams, who was suspended for a full year for his role in putting bounties on opposing players, responded by saying, “Somebody’s gotta f--king block ’em.”
Haley, whose reference to “good teams” carries more weight now that he’s with the team that has been the worst over the last two years, is in the right on this one. Even if the offensive line lays down, defensive players should not be making contact with the quarterback in practice. Especially when the quarterback is poised to be a name on the back of the never ending quarterback jersey that doesn’t change, for at least a few years.