It was only 27 days ago that Odell Beckham Sr. lit the fuse for his son’s exit from Cleveland by posting a video of all the times OBJ was open and quarterback Baker Mayfield failed to get the ball to him. During Sunday night’s loss to the Ravens, the father of Kareem Hunt had things to say, too, about the Browns quarterback.
On Facebook, Kareem Hunt Sr. said of Mayfield, “I’m stating facts on football and what we see [is] he’s limping, he’s scared to throw the ball and they know he’s hurt.”
Hunt later added, “I’m not jeopardizing nothing, I got a right to speak. I ain’t posting no videos.”
Whether that’s enough to get Mayfield worked up remains to be seen. He clearly wasn’t happy about the Beckham Sr. social-media statement.
Mayfield has various lingering injuries as the Browns enter their bye week. Coach Kevin Stefanski made it clear that a quarterback change won’t happen when the Browns host the Ravens in Week 14.
When asked about the possibility of benching Mayfield, coach Kevin Stefanski turned the tables on the reporter, Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland. “Let me ask you a question, why would we do that?”
Here’s why you would, frankly. Because your starter isn’t 100 percent, and because he’s not performing at an acceptable level. And because the Browns have quarterback Case Keenum as the backup. And because Keenum, working with Stefanski in Minnesota, nearly took the Vikings to the Super Bowl four years ago.
As Stefanski said last night, the running game struggled because they were seeing loaded boxes. Obviously, they’re seeing loaded boxes because the Baltimore defense isn’t afraid of the quarterback. Whether it’s because of injury or regression, it’s not working currently for Mayfield as a passer.
Since generating a season-high 132.6 passer rating against the Bengals in Week Nine, Mayfield has completed 44 of 87 passes (50.5 percent) for 496 yards (5.7 yards per attempt), three touchdowns, and three interceptions. That equates to a passer rating of 65.11.
Whatever the reason(s), Mayfield isn’t playing like he did last year. Whatever the reason(s), the Browns won’t bench him and let him heal. The end result is a toxic stew that has the Browns underachieving and Mayfield slowly but surely alienating the fan base. Including the father of Kareem Hunt.