First look: Quarterbacks

With members of the Browns roster in the midst of undergoing COVID-19 testing, time to begin a position-by-position look at the 2020 team as it ramps up for training camp. First, the quarterbacks.

This will be an interesting season for Baker Mayfield, whose reputation and standing throughout the National Football League will be put to a stern test, fairly or unfairly.

The big question: Is he the franchise quarterback the Browns have yearned for the last two decades, the one who stunned the league with a record-breaking rookie season and gave birth to excitement for the future?

Or is he the mistake-prone passer who time after time let down the fans in a highly disappointing sophomore season that eventually led to yet another housecleaning by the flummoxed ownership?

That’s the mystery new head coach Kevin Stefanski and his brand new coaching staff will try to unlock in a season where, under different circumstances, he would have a chance.

Without the benefit of minicamps, OTAs and exhibition games, the new coach is operating from way behind with a player he knows little about and is expected to whip him into an effective weapon tout de suite, rolling right into the season without the benefit of exhibitions.

Stefanski and new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt are undoing all Mayfield learned in his first two seasons – good, bad and otherwise – and molding him in their image, one they believe will take the offense in the right direction.

Mayfield, assumedly, will be at the end of a very long leash; assumedly for two reasons. Not knowing exactly what kind of a head coach Stefanski will be factors into the equation is one.

Will he be an impatient head coach when the offense goes stale in a game and become trigger-happy with his starting quarterback? Or will patience be an ally in an effort to create stability?

Stefanski is quite comfortable with Case Keenum entrenched as Mayfield’s backup. That’s because the well-traveled veteran knows Stefanski’s offense and offensive philosophy well enough to help Mayfield learn it quickly.

With Keenum on board, the Browns now have their best quarterback tandem since . . . well, can’t remember when. There is a certain degree of comfort Stefanski has should Mayfield be unable to play for whatever reason. The drop-off in talent will be negligible.

All Stefanski wants from Mayfield this season (should there be a season) is to be the antithesis of the gunslinger of 2018 and 2019. Be the caretaker of the offense. Minimize mistakes. Do not beat yourself. It’s that simple.

His run-first philosophy is designed with that in mind. And with talents like Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt running behind an improved offensive line, Mayfield will come nowhere close to facing the kind of pressure he experienced last season with a dim-witted offense.

Now it will be up to him to back up his normal braggadocio with positive results, not the kind that led to a disastrous 2019, which left him uncharacteristically humbled.

Keenum, if Stefanski so chooses, probably will be the so-called quarantine quarterback, the guy in the bubble, shielded from the virus and ready to take over at a moment’s notice should the occasion arise.

Garrett Gilbert, who backed up Mayfield last season, most likely will be the third quarterback this season unless Stefanski chooses to gamble and go with just two quarterbacks.

If so, Gilbert and rookie free agent Kevin Davidson, who is merely training camp fodder for the time being, will battle it out to land on the practice squad.

Next: Running backs