4:21 p.m.-CLEVELAND BROWNS QB TYROD TAYLOR: FRIDAY'S GAME NOT ABOUT ME AGAINST BUFFALO BILLS
BEREA, Ohio -- Cleveland Browns quarterback Tyrod Taylor will get a chance to match up against the very team that dealt him away for a third-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, when the Buffalo Bills come to FirstEnergy Stadium for the second game of the 2018 preseason on Friday night.
But ahead of the contest, Taylor is downplaying the “former team” factor and focusing on leading the Browns successfully down the field every time they have the football.
“This game isn’t about them nor just me or our relationship,” Taylor said prior to Tuesday’s practice. “It’s about us taking another step, getting better. It’s Week 2 of the preseason and you want to see growth at every position and in all phases from the first week, so that’s more so what this game is about.
“I'm looking forward to Week 2 of the preseason. I'm not going to make this about me or Buffalo. It's an opportunity for us to get better as a team, an opportunity for me to get better as a player. I'm looking forward to it this week.”
Although Taylor had a limited amount of plays with the first-team offense in last Thursday’s preseason opener against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, he completed all five of his throws for 99 yards and one score against New York’s first-team defense.
That one score was a 36-yard touchdown pass to second-year tight end David Njoku. Taylor found Njoku with a 16-yard throw on the right side of the formation, and the emerging tight end sprinted the final 20 yards before diving into the end zone for the touchdown.
“Anytime I get a chance to compete, I’m going to go out there and do my best to show what I can do as well as help the team win, so preseason or regular-season game, it’s the same,” Taylor said.
During his seven-year career with the Baltimore Ravens and Bills, Taylor completed 793 of his 1,271 attempts (62.4 percent) for 9,056 yards and 51 touchdowns against 18 interceptions. Of those 793 completions, 116 went for at least 20 yards and 22 more were 40-yard gains.
In his three seasons with the Bills, the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Taylor completed 774 passes for 8,837 yards and 51 touchdowns against 16 interceptions. Also, Taylor helped the franchise break a 17-year playoff drought when the Bills qualified for the 2017 NFL Playoffs on the final day of the season.
“I have nothing to hold my head about in my time in Buffalo,” Taylor said. “Like I said, it was a progression from a players’ standpoint each and every year.”
2:45 p.m.-BAKER MAYFIELD ENJOYING ‘DREAM JOB’ AS NFL QB WITH CLEVELAND BROWNS
BEREA, Ohio -- Rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield has never been one to hide his emotions or temper excitement after having success on the football field, and that exuberance has remained with him since he joined the Cleveland Browns through the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
During last Thursday’s 20-10 win over the New York Giants in the 2018 preseason opener at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Mayfield was seen saying, ‘This is fun, not gonna lie,’ and the first-year signal-caller explained his words prior to Tuesday’s practice.
“It’s a dream job,” Mayfield said. “Yeah, I’m working hard, but it’s a dream job for me.
“It’s something I’ve dreamt of for a long time, so when you go out there and you have a chance to do it, why not make the most of it? Why not put everything you have into it? When you have some success, football’s hard, so you better enjoy it. It doesn’t come easy. It’s a lot of work, so you’ve got to be able to enjoy it with the guys.”
There was plenty to be excited about during that preseason win over the Giants. In his NFL preseason debut, Mayfield found the mark with 11 of his 20 attempts, including seven of his last nine throws, for 212 yards and two scores.
With the Browns facing a second-and-goal from the Giants’ 10-yard line, Mayfield fired a pass to the back of the end zone, where despite heavy coverage from New York’s secondary, second-year tight end David Njoku pulled in the pass for the touchdown.
Njoku’s second receiving touchdown of the game gave the Browns a 13-3 lead over the Giants with 6:43 to play in the first half.
Before throwing the touchdown, Mayfield twice earned the Browns a new set of downs with his mobility, as he rushed for a six-yard gain on third-and-six from the New York 27-yard line, and then, scampered for five yards on fourth-and-two from the Giants’ 13.
Then, early in the fourth quarter, wide receiver Antonio Callaway caught a pass from Mayfield after running a slant route from the right side of the formation to the middle of the field and hustled past the Giants’ secondary on the way to a 54-yard touchdown.
Callaway’s scoring play gave the Browns a 20-10 lead over the Giants with 13:37 to play in regulation.
“I’ve always had kind of a one-day-at-a-time mindset, but for me, yeah, I do have that sense of urgency to get better,” Mayfield said. “Every opportunity I can get, I need to seize that day, so for me, it’s about taking it one day at a time, making sure I’m getting better every day.”
That dream has a chance to get a little sweeter on Friday, even though the Browns are still in the preseason, as Mayfield will take his first snaps in front of the Cleveland fans at FirstEnergy Stadium.
“This is a football town when it comes down to it, so it’s going to be exciting,” Mayfield said. “I can’t exactly put a picture on it, what it’s going to be like playing out there at home for the first time, but I’d say it’s pretty exciting.”
11:00 a.m.-BROWNS HOLD SECOND-TO-LAST PRACTICE OF CAMP
BEREA, Ohio -- The Cleveland Browns are set to hold the second-to-last practice of training camp, and if Monday's work was any indication, there will be plenty of competition on both sides of the football.
Browns offensive coordinator Todd Haley took exception to contact made on rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield during Monday’s practice and he was not afraid to let defensive coordinator Gregg Williams know about it.
The two coordinators had a heated exchange of words about the need to protect the quarterbacks before Coach Hue Jackson stepped in the calm down the situation.
“They’re fine,” Jackson said following practice. “Those things happen. We’ve got men that are competing every day. Both sides are competing. That’s just part of football.
“They understand, but I love the fire in both of them. Both of them are very competitive. That’s what you want.”
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