Getty Jedrick Wills and Baker Mayfield.
Jedrick Wills was forced to leave the Cleveland Browns 14-7 victory against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday due to a nagging ankle injury, which could end up sidelining him for some time.
Wills has been dealing with the injury since heading to the locker room early in Week 1 against the Chiefs. The former first-round pick has yet to miss a game but has been obviously hobbled by the ankle. He exited the Browns win against the Vikings in the third quarter and did not return, with James Hudson III filling in for him.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said Wills will be getting an MRI on the ankle to determine the next steps, which could include some rest.
“I think everything we do is really weekly. We make these decisions daily. We make these decisions with the information available to us. It was unfortunate that he got his ankle caught there, but everything is on the table there,” Stefanski told reporters on Monday.
Browns Don’t Give Ringing Endorsement of Hudson
The tough part about losing Wills is that his backup, Chris Hubbard, is also banged up right now with a triceps injury. That led to the team calling upon Hudson to fill in.
“I think he was OK. He had a false start penalty there,” Stefanski said of the 22-year-old undrafted rookie. “He is getting better. He is somebody who we get a good look at him at practice, and he gets a lot of good reps. Part of Jed being out at some of these practices has given him an opportunity to get some really good reps. I think he is progressing and working really hard.”
Stefanski said Hubbard “is getting better and making progress,” but his status is still uncertain for this week after missing the last three games.
Browns Monitoring Baker Mayfield
Getty ImagesBrowns quarterback Baker Mayfield.
There were some questions about quarterback Baker Mayfield’s health after a lackluster showing against the Vikings. He injured his non-throwing shoulder a few weeks back but refused to use that as an excuse.
“I have to pick it up,” Mayfield told reporters after the win, “because if I think that piss-poor performance is going to cut it, it’s not.”
Stefanski was asked about Mayfield and shouldered the blame as the play-caller for the passing game not having more success.
“I think you can go through every play and whether I need to call a better play to get guys open. I would take you to the first drive there, the third-down play did not get anybody open. The fourth-down play, did not get anybody open so those are things I have to do a better job with,” Stefanski said. “I think we know that we want to be better in the pass game. We want to be more explosive in the pass game. There will be opportunities for us to improve, and that is what this week is for really is making sure that we are getting on the same page and then having a good plan for the Chargers.”
The Browns will head to the West Coast to take on the Chargers next week in a matchup of two of the AFC’s top squads.