BEREA, Ohio — As Baker Mayfield struggled throughout the Cleveland Browns' 14-7 Week 4 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, some on social media theorized that the quarterback was still dealing with the effects of the left shoulder injury he suffered against the Houston Texans two weeks ago.
From what Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has seen, however, that isn't the case.
"I don't think so," Stefanski said during a press conference with reporters on Monday. "I base that on what I see in practice. So, I don't think so."
Stefanski's comments came one day after Mayfield turned in his worst performance of the 2021 season, completing just 15 of his 33 pass attempts for 155 yards. In addition to his underwhelming stat line, the No. 1 pick of the 2018 NFL Draft also missed several key throws, including a pass to a wide-open Odell Beckham Jr. on Cleveland's final offensive drive that seemingly would have sealed a win for Cleveland.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Mayfield took ownership of his poor performance vs. the Vikings, which he described as "p--s poor."
"I need to pick it up," Mayfield told reporters in his postgame press conference. "Because if I think that p--s poor performance is going to cut it, it's not. So I'll get better. Luckily, we can lean on [the defense] and run the ball when we need to."
Like Stefanski, Mayfield downplayed the impact of his left shoulder injury, which occurred as he dove to tackle Texans safety Justin Reid following an interception in Week 2.
"It's attached. I'm alright," Mayfield said in postgame press conference. "It's my left shoulder. I throw with my right."