“It’s his own fault” - Mike Florio blames Baker Mayfield for QB's injury-laden season

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield struggled last season, primarily because he played on an injured shoulder for most of the season.

The Browns quarterback hurt his shoulder in Week 2 but elected to play despite the pain, worried he would lose his job next season.

Mike Florio spoke on Pro Football Talk about how Mayfield played hurt last season and placed all the blame on the quarterback.

Florio said:

“It's easy to forget that Mayfield struggled for most of last year for one very important reason. And It's his own fault. He suffered an injury [in] Week 2 after he threw an interception and decided he was going to go make the tackle."

As Florio mentioned, the injury came in Week 2. Mayfield threw an interception against the Houston Texans and got his shoulder hurt with a reported torn labrum upon trying to tackle the defender.

Florio added:

"I say this all the time, do not put yourself in that position. The team needs you more next week and the week after the week after that, then they need you to go try to make that tackle after a turnover. Keep yourself healthy, no unnecessary contact, and no, you know, basic Newtonian physics where you've got one object moving very rapidly this way the other object moves rapidly the other way, you've got heightened forces when you collide, you don't want to do that as a quarterback.”

Mayfield re-injured his shoulder in late October after suffering a big hit from Cardinals defensive end JJ Watt.

Baker Mayfield could end up getting meaningful reps for the Browns this season

Cleveland Browns v Los Angeles Chargers

When the Browns acquired Deshaun Watson this off-season, the expectation was that Mayfield would be out of Cleveland ASAP via trade or release. They made it clear that they were moving on from him. Mayfield himself even requested a trade.

Upon being traded to Cleveland, Watson was signed to a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract, the largest of its kind in history.

However, Watson may not be able to play in Week 1 or maybe for an extended period of time. The NFL is conducting its investigation into the legal troubles of Watson, and once the league comes to a decision, it will decide whether or not they will suspend Watson at all for the 2022 NFL season.