Mid-week thoughts

It sure looks as if Baker Mayfield fully intends to start Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers despite major injuries that would idle other quarterbacks. "People talk on the outside," he says. "They don't know how I feel nor do they decide whether I can go or not."

He wants to play. Who could blame him? This is the Steelers; the classic archrival. That's the kind of attitude you like to see from one of your team leaders. But realism has a way of interferring with clear thinking. That seems to be the case here.

Nursing a torn labrum and broken bone in his left shoulder, suffice it to say the bravado Mayfield displays is foolish in that the next big blow he receives in a collision sport as he plies his trade very well could turn his career in an entirely different and unfortunate direction.

The guess here is the Steelers dearly want him to start Sunday. They have the kind of defense that inflicts large doses of pain. And being keenly aware of Mayfield's physical problems, his left shoulder becomes a bull's-eye if he starts.

Mayfield has also proven since initially injuring the shoulder in week two against Houston that he hasn't learned how to avoid further damage. His broken shoulder is the result of an awkward landing on his already-damaged shoulder while being strip-sacked by J.J. Watt in the Arizona loss. His shoulder pops in and out routinely it seems.

As if the Steelers needed any more incentive, memories of that 48-37 shellacking the Browns delivered in last season's wild-card playoff game in Pittsburgh still resonate in the their locker room.

The Steelers love teeing off on Mayfield. In six career meetings with Pittsburgh, he has been sacked 16 times and battered unmercifully on numerous other occasions. And with his recent problems with regard to finding open receivers and inability to escape the pocket, he would be a sitting target.

The Steelers are not the kind of football team you want to expose your quarterback to, especially one with significant injures that could seriously jeopardize the difference between winning and losing. At 4-3, the Browns can ill afford to lose this one.

It makes much more sense to sit Mayfield, who is 3-3 against the Steelers and thrown for more than 200 yards just once, at least one more game and let Case Keenum become the game manager. A 100% Keenum gives the Browns a much better chance to win than a 50%, at best, Mayfield.

Right now he clearly is not thinking with his head. This is the time when head coach Kevin Stefanski needs to look at the bigger picture and do what's best for his team, not his quarterback. 

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Question of the week: Is Denzel Ward really a shutdown, or lockdown, cornerback? It's been about three-and-a-half seasons now sinceWard, a native Clevelander, was selected as the fourth overall pick in the 2018 college draft by the Browns.

During that time, has Ward been a difference maker? National Football League quarterbacks generally avoid cornerbacks who make plays that affect the outcomes of games. What I've seen of Ward does not fit that description.

Don't get me wrong. He is very good at what he does, but he is not a game-changer like, say, Trevon Diggs of the Dallass Cowboys, or Jalen Ramsey of the Los Angeles Rams, or Jaire Alexander of the Green Bay Packers.

When drafting a corner that high in the draft, you better make damn certain he is a playmaker. When then- General Manager John Dorsey had the chance to draft edge rusher Bradley Chubb with the fourth pick, he went with Ward instead after conferring with defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

Ward, who has yet to play a full 16-game season with the Browns (he has missed 11 of 55 games), does not seem to be a ballhawk. He had only two interceptions at Ohio State in three seasons and just seven thus far with the Browns. 

Doesn't sound like the player they thought they were getting when they surprised draft pundits by selecting Ward so high. He hasn't been a bust by the strict definition of the word, but he hasn't been a standout, either. The best you can say about him is he is above average. A fourth overall picks should be better than above average.

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The Browns drafted eight young men from the collegiate ranks last May. Five have been either major or significant contributors to the cause on both sides of the football. The other three fall under the category of "he's still on the team? I didn't know that."

Cornerback Greg Newsome II (round one), linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (round two), wide receiver Anthony Schwartz (round three), offensive lineman James Hudson III (round four) and running back/wide receiver Demetric Felton (round six) have made themselves known to the public.

So where are the other three? And who are they? Well, there's fourth-round pick defensive tackle Tommy Togiai from Ohio State; and fifth-round picks linebacker Tony Fields II and safety Richard LeCounte III (the Browns are big on Roman numerals).

Yes, this trio is still on the active 53-man roster. But you'd never know it because they play anonymously on special teams only. LeCounte, who played five scrimmage snaps in the season opener and none since, has logged 47 other snaps on special teams in games one, four, six and seven, Fields has seen 50 ST snaps in games three, four, six and seven.

Togiai, who was expected to challenge for a role along the defensive line, has surprisingly been a healthy scratch for every game. And yet there he is, No. 93 on the main roster. Hmmmmm.

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John Johnson III is by far the busiest member of the defense this season. The free safety has played 98.86% of the plays -- that's 433 snaps -- in the first seven games. Ward is the busiest corner with 357 snaps (81.5%). Defensive end Myles Garrett checks in with 343 snaps ((78.37%), while slot corner Troy Hill has logged 317 snaps (72.37%).

On offense, center JC Tretter, left guard Joel Bitonio and right guard Wyatt Teller are the iron men, playing all 481 snaps. Left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin have missed either entire games or parts of them. What makes Tretter's feat remarkable is he does not practice during the week in order to protect issues with a knee.

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Finally . . . Why does it seen second-year tight end Harrison Bryant is being targeted less this season? Because he is. He was targeted 38 times as a rookie, catching 24 for 238 yards, three touchdowns and 14 first downs. This season, he has been targeted just 12 times in seven games for 84 yards, no touchdowns and four first downs. He is on pace to be targeted just 29 times this season. What gives? . . . It seems as though Schwartz is being used more as a decoy than one of the prime receivers? If so, why? . . . Notice Blake Hance is the first plug-in at either tackle instead of Hudson in the event of injury? Good move. . . . Eleven players have landed on injured reserve so far this season, Running back Kareem Hunt and JOK are due back by the middle of next month.