AFC North: 5 things to look for in 2018
By Cody Rivera
4. How long can Tyrod Taylor evade Baker Mayfield?
While we’re on the topic of the Browns, we might as well point out that Taylor might not make it through the entire season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback. It’s been a long time since the Browns have had an interesting quarterback situation, but they indeed have one now, which is nice to see for the fans in Cleveland who have been quarterback-starved for years.
The Browns want Taylor to be their guy in 2018; in essence, they don’t want to rush the rookie Mayfield into action too quickly, as we’ve seen the brutal consequences of that in the past. But Mayfield has been mighty impressive in training camp and in preseason action thus far, and the fans are ready for the future to begin right now.
While it’s smart that the coaches want to give Mayfield time to ease into the system, if at any point during the season they think it’s time to pull Taylor in favor of Mayfield, they’ll do it. He’s a fiercely competitive kid, and even as a rookie, he’s going to absolutely despise standing on the sidelines while Taylor gets all of the action.
Mayfield is going to do everything he can this season to steal that job from Taylor, so it will be interesting to see how long Taylor can hold him off. If he plays decently and the Browns can win a game or two here and there, he might last for most of the season. But if his performance slips at all, or he suffers an injury, Mayfield is going to be lurking like a rattlesnake.