Rookie Baker Mayfield had an impressive debut for the Browns on Thursday night, but it wasn’t impressive enough to get the Browns to change their plans at quarterback.
“We’re sticking with our plan,” quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese said Sunday, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “Let’s get on with Tyrod as our starter. He’s our guy.” (Curiously, that specific comment didn’t make its way into the “select quotes” the Browns are now distributing from player and coach media availability.)
The Browns repeatedly have said that Taylor will be the starting quarterback, and not just for the start of the season but ideally for the full year. People on the outside are beginning to think that could be a mistake; the real question is whether the people on the inside — specifically, other players — agree.
NFL teams fall into two categories: Those that have a franchise quarterback, and those that are looking for one. The Browns think they’ve found one in Mayfield. So why not use him?
And if they’re not going to use him, why didn’t they draft someone else with the first overall pick, like Saquon Barkley?
Eventually, Mayfield will be the guy. The sooner he’s the guy, however, the sooner he’ll begin getting the kind of reps that will allow him to reach his ceiling.