BEREA, Ohio — On Monday, Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said that his team was still working through the process of determining whether Baker Mayfield could play vs. the Denver Broncos on Thursday.
One day later, the Browns quarterback said that he still anticipates playing against Denver despite reaggravating a left shoulder injury in Cleveland's 37-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
"Today's better than yesterday, that's for sure," Mayfield told reporters on Tuesday. "Kind of back to basics trying to get the information down and we'll see where it goes, one day at a time."
Asked whether he still plans on playing on Thursday, Mayfield said, "I do."
Mayfield's comments came two days after he re-dislocated his left shoulder while taking a sack from Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt in the third quarter of the Browns' Week 6 defeat on a play in which he also fumbled. The No. 1 pick of the 2018 NFL Draft had previously suffered a torn labrum in the same shoulder while attempting to make a tackle after throwing an interception in Cleveland's Week 2 win over the Houston Texans and said that his shoulder also popped out of place on a non-contact play in Sunday's loss to Arizona.
On Monday, Stefanski said that the Browns will work with their medical staff, as well as Mayfield, to determine his availability against Denver on Thursday night. Mayfield, however, seemed to dispute that notion on Tuesday, stating that he will ultimately be the one to decide whether he can play against the Broncos or misses the first game of his NFL career.
"I have to make that decision, only I know how my body feels," Mayfield said. "And if anyone questions whether I'm hindering the team going out there injured, that's just not right. So it's my decision, I get to say whether I'm able to play or not and that's just how it is."