At 7-6, the Browns aren’t as good as they were expected to be. And there are issues within the building that need to be resolved.
Before they can be resolved, they need to be diagnosed.
On Monday, coach Kevin Stefanski was asked about the “internal things” to which quarterback Baker Mayfield referred in an NFL Network interview on Sunday. What is Mayfield referring to?
“I am not sure exactly what that is referring to,” Stefanski told reporters. “I talk to Baker every week, every day so I think we have a good line of communication.”
Apparently, not good enough. Or Stefanski would know what the issue is.
So does the situation need to be explored?
“Again, I would tell you with Baker and with all of our guys, constant open line of communication so you will always address anything that is on people’s minds,” Mayfield said. “Specific to that, I do not have a specific answer to that comment.”
He needs to find answers. More broadly, the Browns need to answer whether Mayfield is their guy for the future. It’s a dispassionate, objective assessment that the franchise needs to make regarding their would-be franchise quarterback who, frankly, isn’t currently among the very best quarterbacks in the NFL -- and may never be.
