BEREA, Ohio — Some of the Cleveland Browns’ most recognizable players, namely wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and quarterback Baker Mayfield, have been critical of the National Football League’s fine scale and recent officiating, but one should not expect to hear similar arguments from coach Freddie Kitchens.
The Browns’ first-year head coach has been asked after multiple games this season for his opinion on the officiating, but to this point, he has refrained from letting his criticisms be known, and that is not likely to change anytime soon.
“I like money, so I am not going to complain about the officials,” Kitchens said prior to Wednesday’s practice at team headquarters in Berea.
“If they want to give their money to the league, they can do it. It does not matter to me either way. I would like for them to keep their money, but I also like our guys to be passionate about what they are doing. They have a decision to make, I guess.”
Mayfield never has been afraid to express his own opinions, and he vented some frustration following a 32-28 loss to the Seattle Seahawks at FirstEnergy Stadium on Sunday, October 13. According to NFL.com, Mayfield was fined $12,500 for his comments.
Mayfield took umbrage with the officiating as it relates to a blindside block penalty against wide receiver Jarvis Landry in the third quarter that helped unravel a potential response drive for the Browns after the Seahawks had taken their first lead of the game.
“I will probably get fined for saying this, but it was pretty bad today,” Mayfield said at the time. “The guy is squared up with him, running at him and he is lowering his head into Jarvis. What is he supposed to do? Avoid him? This is not bull fighting. I don’t know. It ticks me off.”
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The penalty was not the only problem Mayfield and the Browns had with the officiating, as another play involving Landry drew an impassioned response from the Cleveland sideline.
With the Browns facing a fourth-and-goal from the Seattle one-yard line, Mayfield took the snap and quickly fired a throw to Landry on the right side of the formation. Landry fumbled the ball into the end zone after appearing to break the plane of the goal line.
Ultimately, after a lengthy review, the Browns lost the challenge and a timeout. However, because Seattle drew a 12 men on the field penalty, the Browns got another chance to score on fourth down, where running back Nick Chubb was stopped short of the goal line.
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Earlier this week, Beckham Jr. expressed his frustrations over being fined $14,000 for a uniform violation by not having pants that covered his knees.
Although Kitchens is not going to join in on the criticism, he is okay with players speaking out if it does not hurt the team.
“We try to control what we can control, that is it,” Kitchens said. “As long as those guys are not hurting the team, it does not matter. My concern is the team, and I do not want them hurting their team with comments and neither one of them has.
“As far as comments about officials and stuff like that, I am going to stay away from that because I can’t control the officials. I am not in their meetings. I am not in their pregame deals and all that kind of stuff. I just want to control our team from the standpoint of putting them in the best position to win.”