Tyrod Taylor escapes with only a dislocated left pinky

It looked bad as it happened, but Tyrod Taylor has avoided a major injury to his non-throwing hand.

In the first quarter of Thursday night’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland Browns quarterback Tyrod Taylor made an awkward throw moving to his left on a fourth down play and landed awkwardly on his left wrist. He was able to return to the game, which was an immediate good sign, and x-rays on his hand/wrist came back negative.

On Friday, the news on Taylor’s injury continued to be good. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Taylor suffered a dislocated pinky on his non-throwing hand and the injury is considered relatively minor.

Despite bringing in Baker Mayfield with the first overall pick in April’s draft, Browns  head coach Hue Jackson has remained committed to Taylor as the starting quarterback. Mayfield’s time with the starters on Thursday night, which was not that bad but only yielded a field goal, was probably not enough to change the conversation as in-game work is now over until Week 1.

After an 0-16 campaign in 2017, the Browns have nowhere to go but up this year and they are considered a potential sleeper to make the playoffs. Jackson also has to win some games, after going 1-31 in his first two seasons as head coach, so Taylor has been put atop the depth chart regardless of Mayfield’s anointed status as the quarterback of the future.

In the moment Thursday night it looked like Taylor had suffered a fairly significant injury to his left wrist or arm, and his being cleared to return to the game unnecessarily invited something worse to happen. His comfort level and any lingering pain will be the determining factors, but for now Taylor is sure to be under center for the Browns in their season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.