Mid-week thoughts

It's understandable why many Browns fans suspect Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski is losing confidence in his quarterback and therefore does not trust him anymore as the disappointing 2021season winds down.

Even if that's the case, Stefanski will never admit it. He frequently points fingers of guilt at himself as one of the reasons the Cleveland offense has been nowhere near the scary unit it was last season. An admirable stance as he attempts to deflect, but that goes just so far.

The club is 7-8 heading into the final two games with the playoffs still in the crosshairs; the offense isn't playing nearly as aggressively as it should; and their quarterback is experiencing his worst season as a professional with no satisfactory end in sight.

Fact of the matter is there is a reason Baker Mayfield has been a spectacular failure in his fourth National Football League season. He has been severely limited physically due to a serious of injuries that have affected what he does for a living and cannot be minimized.

It started halfway through the second game of the season against the Houston Texans and had a significant effect on how he has performed. Attempting to make a tackle after throwing an interception badly damaged his left shoulder.

Numerous blows to the shoulder made it so bad at one point, he reluctantly sat out .a game. Subsequent injuries to a foot, an ankle and both knees limited what he could do. He became a shell of the quarterback fans embraced through his first three seasons.

He has been wearing a shoulder harness on that shoulder that seems to restrict his throwing motion. Fox Sports NFL analyst Troy Aikman, working the Browns' game in Green Bay last Saturday, pointed out Mayfield seemed to have more problems throwing to his left than in the middl or to his right, citing the harness as a possible reason.

Stefanski's offense for a while now has become conservative in the passing game. Rarely do you see Mayfield throw anything longer than mid-range depth. And when he does go deep on occasion, his accuracy percentage plummets. Opposing teams sense this and sometimes play as many as eight or nine men in the box and dare him to throw.

It is unfair to take what he has done this season and use it as a barometer to what lies in his future, whether it's in Cleveland or elsewhere. What's fair is seeing what he can do when completely healthy -- or as completely healthy as a football player can be -- next season, an iffy assumption at this point.

It is also possible Mayfield -- he will never admits this -- has lost confidence and trust in his receiving corps. The release of mercurial wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. midway through the season and a COVID-19 surge that wrecked havoc with the receiving corps might have had had something to do with that.

Dropped passes can sometimes be used as a reason for a quarterback's problems. Not with the Browns this season believe it or not. Receivers have dropped only 19 passes -- sure seems like a lot more -- according to league stats.

It should not come as a surprise, then, that the one position that needs the most help on either side of the football in the offseason is wide receiver. Jarvis Landry is clearly the best and most trusted member of that group and there is no guarantee he'll be back next season. 

How Stefanski gameplans the next two games with his wounded quarterback probably will determine whether it's a second straight invitation to the playoffs or time to whip out the golf clubs. 

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Now that he has escaped COVID prison, it is assumed Chase McLaughlin will be the Browns' kicker the next two games after some roster massaging recently gave the club three kickers. Chris Naggar, who subbed for McLaughlin in the Green Bay loss, was joined Wednesday by Chris Blewitt, who last kicked with Washington. Three is one too many kickers.

Blewitt, signed before the club knew McLaughlin would be back, played two games with Washington earlier this season and made two of five field goals, The other three were blocked. Can't imagine what attracted General Manager Andrew Berry to him.

McLaughlin returns in the midst of a slump that has seen him miss four of his last six field-goal attempts. But his head coach head-scratchingly still has faith in him. "Chase is our kicker," he says repeatedly. "He has high expectations for himself. We expect him when he's out there to make his kicks and we're counting on him. I think he knows that."

On another occasion when questioned about McLaughlin's problems, he said, "Chase understands he has to make those kicks. He puts as much pressure on himself as anybody else. So he wants to come through and we're counting on him." Last time I checked, pressure is part of the job. Comes with the territory.

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As it stands now, the Browns will be at just about full strength for the rest of the season with the return Thursday of center JC Tretter, defensive tackle Jordan Elliott, rookie cornerback Greg Newsome II and McLaughlin to the active roster. Every position on both sides of the ball has quality depth.