Andrew Berry declined to reveal whether he'll exercise the fifth-year option on Baker Mayfield's rookie contract, but doing so before the May 3 deadline is a foregone conclusion.
Berry simply doesn't like to discuss contractual decisions through the media.
“I think you know me well enough that that's not something that I'll really talk about publicly,” Berry said Wednesday on Zoom, speaking to reporters to compensate for the loss of traditional media access at the canceled NFL scouting combine.
However, the general manager of the Browns has no qualms about expressing his faith in the starting quarterback.
“We've been pretty consistent with our messaging around Baker that we think he had a really strong season for us,” Berry said. “We like the maturation and the growth both on and off the field, and we're looking forward to him continuing to take steps this second year of the offense.”
Mayfield's ascent last season has allowed the Browns to avoid the fray of a wild quarterback carousel this offseason. It's quite a change for a franchise that had sought a long-term answer at the position for the vast majority of an expansion era dating to 1999.
“You’re hitting on an important point because the quarterback position is in my mind the most important position in professional sports,” Berry said. “And until you have a baseline of winning-level quarterback play, I think it’s really difficult to win and make progress in the NFL, and oftentimes if that position isn’t productive or isn’t solidified, it can feel a lot like operating in neutral. So that’s something that’s certainly not lost on us, and it’s definitely not lost on this organization.”
This is also not lost on Berry: Mayfield has had three full-time head coaches, three play callers and three playbooks since the Browns drafted him first overall in 2018.
With NFL Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski, Mayfield will have the same play caller and offense in consecutive seasons for the first time in his NFL career.
“Baker is the first quarterback [since 2002 who has] led this team to the playoffs and [the first since the 1994 season who has earned] a playoff victory,” Berry said. “He’s endured an enormous amount of adversity in his young career, just quite honestly with the changes that he’s gone through with the coaching staffs, front offices, offensive systems, and he’s risen above it all. So I think we all saw him grow from week to week to week last year, and we expect him to continue that progress and have a fantastic 2021 season for us.’’
In addition to picking up the fifth-year option, Berry could extend Mayfield's contract this offseason, or the GM could play the waiting game to see what happens this coming season.
Either way, Berry indicated the Philadelphia Eagles trading Carson Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts this offseason after they signed him to a contract extension in June 2019 won't affect his decision regarding Mayfield. Berry spent the 2019 season with the Eagles as their vice president of football operations.
“I don’t know that with respect to anything that’s happened to any of the other 31 teams that that has a major bearing in terms of how we’re going to address the quarterback situation here,” Berry said. “We’ll evaluate that internally and make a decision that we think is best for our team and our organization. So I think it would be maybe a stretch to say that that’s going to serve as a cautionary tale or any type of [warning]. We’ll make the best decision for us with the information that we have.”
The information the Browns have about Mayfield's 2020 season is encouraging, especially the final dozen games.
Mayfield completed 349 of 557 passes (62.7%) for 4,030 yards and 30 touchdowns with nine interceptions for a rating of 95.7 in 18 games this past season, leading the Browns to a record of 12-6, including 1-1 in the playoffs.
It proved to be a huge bounce-back year for him after he threw 22 TD passes with 21 interceptions and ranked next to last in completion percentage (59.4) and passer rating (78.8) in 2019, when the Browns flopped to 6-10 under one-and-done coach Freddie Kitchens.
“I wouldn't put any parameters on any of our guys when it comes to their trajectory,” Stefanski said Tuesday on Zoom. “I would just tell you that I know he can continue to get better. He's another person who is eager to get better. He's champing at the bit.
“When he walks in this building or we virtually see him next, we'll make sure that we outline some things that he can improve on. I think you all know this about Baker. He works really, really hard at his craft. When you do that, you have a chance.”
Not only did Mayfield rebound last year from his 2019 regression, but he also had a remarkable in-season turnaround in 2020.
Mayfield began the season with 10 touchdown passes and seven interceptions in the first six-plus games. The last of those picks occurred in the first quarter Oct. 25 against the Cincinnati Bengals when wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament while attempting to make a tackle during an interception return.
Then Mayfield threw 20 touchdown passes and just two interceptions the rest of the season, including the two playoff games.
“Baker definitely became more comfortable in what we were doing, but I would tell you that I became more comfortable with his skill set,” Stefanski said. “And going across the board, I was learning about our players and our coaches were learning about our players throughout that beginning portion of the season. I just think it was the natural evolution of us as an offense as we all learned about each other a little bit more.”
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