Baker Mayfield says 'it's completely insensitive' to suggest he plays better without Odell Beckham Jr.
Odell Beckham Jr. tore his ACL halfway through the Cleveland Browns Week 7 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, a game that ended as a hard-fought win for the Browns. With the Browns winning without Beckham, and Beckham’s season over, one question came up repeatedly.
Is quarterback Baker Mayfield better without OBJ on the field?
Mayfield defends OBJ
The mere suggestion that he’s a better quarterback without Beckham offended Mayfield — especially since Beckham just experienced a season-ending injury.
"I think it's completely insensitive to a guy who just tore his ACL. I'm not even going to comment on it."
- Baker Mayfield, asked why the narrative that he is a better QB without OBJ is "unfair".— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) October 28, 2020
The idea that the Browns and Mayfield do better without Beckham has its roots way back in 2019. Beckham played all 16 games with the Browns last year and the Browns finished 6-10. Of course, Beckham started all seven 2020 games before he got hurt, and the Browns are currently 5-2 while Baker’s had a few good games before Beckham’s injury. The theory doesn’t hold much water.
Beyond thinking it’s unfair that people would think that he or the Browns play better when one of their star wide receivers is injured and not in the game, Mayfield said that the absence of Beckham affects the Browns’ offense in numerous ways, and he’s worried about it.
Mayfield later added...
"It's awful to lose a guy like that. We believe we have a great team."
"Without him there may not be as many one-on-one opportunities."
"Teams are going to play us differently."— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) October 28, 2020
Landry emotional about OBJ’s injury
Wide receiver Jarvis Landry, one of Beckham’s close friends off the field, was emotional about seeing his “brother” suffer such a tough injury.
“It's tough. You know? It's tough, but, you know, his spirit is, I really can't say,” Landry said during a Tuesday radio interview on the "Bull and Fox" show on 92.3 The Fan. “It's one of the things that, for him, it hurts. It hurts.
“And as a teammate, as a brother, it hurts to see your brother go down on the field like that, and obviously to lose him for the whole season. It's something that's really tough.”
Landry also thinks that the loss of Beckham will affect the Browns negatively and not positively. He’s a big part of their game plan, and now that’s gone.
“I would say that's not true at all,” Landry said, via the Akron Beacon Journal. “I think a lot of our offense has been solely based on having Odell on the field. And a lot of the things that have opened up for us as an offense has been because of the threat that he is. Now we've just got to find a way to adapt and adjust and make plays.”
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