CLEVELAND — Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield's injury may be a bit more serious than previously thought as NFL Fox's Jay Glazer reported Thursday that Mayfield has a fractured humerus bone in addition to the torn labrum in his left shoulder.
Glazer reported that Mayfield told him he fractured the humerus bone and that the fracture is "preventing his rotator cuff from firing."
Mayfield reportedly told Glazer that the fracture happened when his shoulder popped out.
“I need that fracture to heal for me to get back out there,” he said.
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) October 21, 2021
When his shoulder popped out, it fractured the bone @NFLonFOX
Mayfield initially injured his non-throwing shoulder on Sept. 19 as the Browns took on the Houston Texans. Mayfield was attempting to throw to rookie wide receiver Anthony Schwartz, who appeared to stop his route prematurely, allowing the Texans to intercept the ball.
While trying to make a tackle, Mayfield appeared to injure his shoulder and was down on the field before trainers ran out to evaluate him. Mayfield headed into the medical tent and then went back to the locker room. But shortly after, Mayfield ran back from the locker room to the sideline, putting his helmet on and prepping to go back into the game.
Mayfield didn’t miss a snap that game but did say afterward that his shoulder had “popped in and out.”
From that game on, Mayfield has been wearing a shoulder harness for the left shoulder and receiving treatments daily from a physiotherapist. That treatment has taken place during the breaks of practice and after his workday is over, with additional treatment and physiotherapy sessions at his home.
It later was revealed that Mayfield had partially torn his labrum in the left shoulder and while he would play through it, an option for correcting it could be surgery. On Tuesday, Mayfield said he had "no idea" if he'd be having surgery at some point to repair the damage but did say that the labrum was actually "completely torn" from Week 2.
On Sunday, Mayfield exacerbated the injury against the Cardinals when he was sacked by defensive end J.J. Watt.
Players on both teams took a knee as medical staff rushed the field to evaluate Mayfield, who eventually got up and walked off the field under his own power. Mayfield entered the medical tent on the sideline and after leaving and heading back in multiple times, Mayfield put on his helmet and returned to the game.
After the game, Mayfield came out to the press conference wearing a sling and said his left shoulder dislocated on the hit and then later popped in and out on a non-contact play later in the game after he returned to the field.
The team conducted MRIs on the shoulder after the game and on Monday Stefanski said that they’d monitor Mayfield in the few days between then and their next game against the Broncos.
Mayfield was ruled out of Thursday's game against the Broncos with Case Keenum getting the start.
The team nor Mayfield addressed the fracture leading up to Thursday's game, with Mayfield declining to get into the details of his MRI results before Tuesday's practice session.
“It was not ideal by any means. I am not going to get into the details,” Mayfield said.
The team seemed hopeful for Mayfield's quick return, but with the new details of his injury, that may no longer be possible. Mayfield is still hopeful to play in the Browns next game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 31, however.
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
