BEREA, Ohio — A siren from an emergency vehicle blared near Browns headquarters as Baker Mayfield conducted his pre-practice news conference Wednesday.
When Mayfield commented on the loud noise, a reporter joked with the banged-up quarterback, "I thought you called the ambulance for you."
Mayfield quipped, "I might have."
In all seriousness, Mayfield has been dealing with a completely torn labrum in his left shoulder since Sept. 19, a fractured humerus bone in the same non-throwing shoulder since Oct. 17, a sore left foot since Nov. 7 and a right knee contusion he suffered in Sunday's 45-7 loss to the New England Patriots.
"This is probably the most beat up I've ever been in my career," Mayfield said. "It's not like it's one particular thing. It's multiple."
Mayfield said he plans to play Sunday when the Browns (5-5) host the Detroit Lions (0-8-1), but he didn't sound as confident about his ability to push through the pain as he usually does. He also said he didn't know whether he would practice Wednesday, adding, "There's no reason to make things worse if I don't need to." Later, the Browns announced Mayfield wouldn't practice Wednesday.
Asked if resting Sunday and giving himself a chance to heal for the final six games would do him some good, Mayfield said, "I mean, at this point, I'm just taking it one day at a time. I have plenty of time until Sunday, so we'll see what happens."
The Browns' medical staff has ruled out ligament damage in Mayfield's injured knee, coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday. But Mayfield admitted he experienced difficulty walking immediately after the game and Monday.
With the Browns trailing 31-7, Mayfield suffered the knee injury when he absorbed a hit from Patriots linebacker Matt Judon with 2:22 left in the third quarter. Stefanski said Mayfield could have returned to the action at Gillette Stadium, but the coach decided against it because the game was out of reach.
"On the field, Dr. [James] Voos checked it out — nothing structural," Mayfield said. "Had the X-ray after the game — nothing structural with the bones or anything like that. So caught the nerve on the outside of my leg. Made it go numb. So the outside of my knee is sore and tender, but that numbness where you can't feel your leg is pretty scary. Hadn't had that before, but it's another new thing for me."
Mayfield said the numb sensation has since gone away, but the quarterback still moved slowly as he walked Wednesday.
