Following an injury-plagued and disappointing 2021 season, Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield is now on the mend.
Mayfield took to social media on Wednesday to announce that he underwent surgery in Los Angeles to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
“The surgery went great, was a complete success. Had a great medical team that took care of me. I checked that box off to get this fixed and now it’s on the way to the road to recovery,” Mayfield said in the post.
The surgery is expected to require a four -to six-month rehabilitation window with the belief that he can resume some light throwing some time in April.
The former No. 1 pick and his team entered the 2021 season with Super Bowl expectations — only to finish with an 8-9 record and miss out on the playoffs altogether.
As for Mayfield, he saw some major regression from what was a breakout third year in the NFL in 2020:
- Mayfield stats (2020): 62.8% completion, 3,563 yards, 26 TD, 8 INT
- Mayfield stats (2021): 60.5% completion, 3,010 yards, 17 TD, 13 INT
Some of this can be attributed to the numerous injuries Mayfield dealt with throughout the 2021 campaign. In-season, he touched on just how much they impacted him.
“Pretty sore. That time of the year,” Mayfield said back in November. “One day at a time but I’ll be good. Probably the most beat up I’ve been. Multiple things, not just one.”
The backdrop here is Mayfield’s contract situation. The two sides discussed an extension last offseason but were unable to come to terms on a new deal.
Mayfield now enters the final season of his rookie contract with no extension in sight this coming offseason. The Browns made that perfectly clear following their disappointing 2021 campaign.
“We have a lot of guys who will have gone into their final (contract) year or something along those lines,” Browns general manager Andrew Berry told reporters in his season-ending presser. “That is not something that really goes into the calculus for us. Every year, you will have guys on expiring deals.”
There’s a real possibility that Mayfield will enter the 2022 season as a lame duck and with the Browns finding him some competition in the quarterback room.
The good news? He should be able to take part in summer minicamps and training camp. That wouldn’t set Mayfield back too much as he attempts to, once again, prove his worth as a viable starting quarterback in the NFL — whether it’s with the Browns or another team.
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