Cleveland Browns: 3 Players to watch in Preseason Week 3 vs. Eagles

Baker Mayfield

Only in Cleveland. Only in a town that has not seen a good starting quarterback since 1999 does Baker Mayfield get relegated to the bench. Maybe it is lack faith in their ability to draft. Maybe they so rigidly believe that sitting Mayfield will actually help him. Or maybe the Browns think Tyrod Taylor is the best chance to win games immediately and save all their jobs. Either way, sitting Mayfield next season makes little sense.

However, come Thursday night, Mayfield will have one last opportunity to make his case. In the two previous preseason games, Mayfield has shown that he can play from the pocket. He has shown excellent pocket awareness and the ability to sidestep defenders while keeping his eyes downfield.

He has shown the ability to read defenses (admittedly the vanilla defenses of the preseason) and go through his progressions. On several plays this preseason, Mayfield has looked off his first and second options to his third in his progression. He has also taken care of the ball by scrambling for throwing the ball away.

There is little more that Baker can do to progress without getting first-team reps with the starters. On Thursday, Mayfield will get the opportunity to state his final case to supplant Tyrod Taylor. Yes, Baker Mayfield is the future. But maybe the future is now.