The Browns have won a playoff game for the first time since 1994.
Baker Mayfield wasn’t even alive when Cleveland defeated New England in that season’s wild-card round.
But now Mayfield is the quarterback of Cleveland’s present and likely the quarterback of the team’s future. The Browns can solidify that in the coming months, as Mayfield is eligible for a contract extension after finishing his third pro season.
But General Manager Andrew Berry wasn’t quite ready to address that when speaking to the media on Friday.
“There will be plenty of time for those discussions with all the 2021 decisions,” Berry said, via video from Jake Trotter of ESPN. “I think it’s probably just easy to say really pleased with Baker’s performance, really pleased with what he’s done this year. We wouldn’t be here without his contributions.”
Mayfield completed 62.8 percent of his passes in 2020 for 3,563 yards with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Mayfield hasn’t thrown a pick since Week 14, and only threw one interception from Week 8 on.
Last year, Mayfield threw 21 interceptions. Only Jameis Winston threw more with 30.
“The circumstances coming into this year were really challenging for someone who was going on his fourth offensive coordinator in three years, no offseason, new system,” Berry said. “And I think all of us have just seen his maturation and growth on a weekly basis. So it’s a credit to him, it’s a credit to Kevin [Stefanski], to [offensive coordinator] ‘AVP’ [Alex Van Pelt], to all of Baker’s hard work. He’s really grown up before our eyes.”