Baker Mayfield has partially torn labrum

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield has a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder and will continue to play through the injury.

There have been questions about whether of not the left shoulder of Baker Mayfield was bothering him since the injury suffered in the win over the Houston Texans a few weeks ago. It appears that Mayfield’s left shoulder is an issue as NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has reported that the Browns quarterback has a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder.

Baker Mayfield will continue to play through the ailment. Asked yesterday by reporters if the shoulder harness affects his play, he said: “It shouldn’t, no.” https://t.co/aw8L4Jz1GL

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 7, 2021

Baker Mayfield is expected to continue to play through the injury. There has been an obvious drop in play this season and while the shoulder has contributed to that, there are non-shoulder related problems as well. Mayfield has gone back to bailing from the pocket and running to his right in addition to not seeing open receivers right in front of him.

It was obvious there was something wrong in the Browns win over the Vikings this past Sunday. Baker Mayfield missed a wide open Odell Beckham Jr. several times that would have made the margin of victory much larger. While there are other issues with Mayfield this season, the injury is the most pressing at the moment.

If Baker Mayfield is unable to make those throws and is impacting what the offense can do, perhaps a temporary quarterback change may be required while Mayfield gets to a place where he is not a liability. Case Keenum is not exciting, but it is about the big picture and the ultimate goals for the team. If that means a short-term spell of Keenum in order for Mayfield to be right for the playoffs so be it.