Mid-week thoughts

At first blush, Sunday's home game against the Houston Texan marks the beginning of the second half of the 2020 National Football League season for the Browns. But it's more than that. A lot more.

It is also the beginning of a stretch of eight games that will determine once and for all just what direction the club heads with relation to its quarterback. That's right. Baker Mayfield goes under the Andrew Berry-Kevin Stefanski microscope in the next two months..

The general manager and head coach, at least ostensibly, will have to make up their minds whether Mayfield is their quarterback of the future. How he performs in the next eight games could answer many questions that still hang over the third-year quarterback's head.

Is he the quarterback who dazzled the NFL as a rookie and helped create a mountain of hope for his sophomore season only to crash and burn? Or is he the quarterback whose inconsistency since that season puzzles fans and coaches alike?

It is not too early to suggest his professional football future -- at least in Cleveland -- hangs in the balance. In plotting the future, Berry and Stefanski have to know, not just hope, know Mayfield is the man with whom they are going to entrust that future.

Decisions about that future with respect to contracts depend in large part on how well those third-year players play and whether the coveted fifth-year option, which would make them quite wealthy, will be offered. Running back Nick Chubb and cornerback Denzel Ward are virtual locks. Not so much Mayfield.

Oversimplifying here? Not really. The inconsistency with which Mayfield has performed in the last year and a half indicates you never know from game to game what you are getting to get from him. That is disconcerting and needs to be addressed.

He has enjoyed huge highs like his 7-7 record and crowd gunslinger mentality as a rookie. Or the five-touchdown, 21-straight-completions game in the second Cincinnati victory a few weeks ago. Three of the scores were of the go-ahead variety in the fourth quarter. 

Then there is the Mayfield who has thrown 42 interceptions in his 38-game career. That pick-a-game pace frustrates the hell out of coaches and fans alike. His overall 18-20 record screams mediocre. The consistency of his inconsistency is troubling.

Stefanski nevertheless has pronounced himself satisfied with his quarterback at the halfway point despite some of his obvious struggles. "We can help him," the coach said. "I know that. We can help him in some of the design and some of the playcalls. I think he is ready to ascend."

Ascend to what" Stefanski did not elucidate. "Baker has to continue to get better," he said. "My comfort level in understanding him and all our players will allow us to put game plans together and play to our guys' strengths."

"I'd just say I'm putting my head down and work," said Mayfield in response. "Like I said after the Raiders game, we're not anywhere near where we want to be."

Even though the Browns have played eight games that count, and won five of them, it sure sounds as though Stefanski is still looking for the magic potion that will eliminate some of the doubt that lingers. 

As for Mayfield, it's hard to tell whether he is passing, struggling or flirting with flunking out of the Kevin Stefanski school of offensive football. That philosophy, not nearly as reliant on the passing skills of a quarterback as it is a solid ground game, at times appears to hamper Mayfield. 

Is he trying to turn his quarterback into something he doesn't want to be? A game manager whose main job is to not make mistakes with the football?

You wouldn't know that considering Mayfield's attitude after returning Wednesday from his five-day stay on the reserve COVID-19  just in time to practice for the Texans game. "I'm very excited about getting back to work for this last journey, this run we're trying to make," said Mayfield.  "It started a long time ago, but hitting the reset button and being able to start fresh is a blessing."

Last journey? Hmmmm. What an interesting choice of words.

So what is Baker Mayfield's future with the Cleveland Browns beyond this year? The answer to that could very well depend on he performs in the final eight games.