With their playoff hopes on the line, the Browns will likely be without their starting quarterback and head coach Saturday against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield and coach Kevin Stefanski have tested positive for COVID-19.
A league source confirmed an ESPN report about Mayfield's positive case Wednesday morning, not long after the Browns announced Stefanski had tested positive for the second consecutive season.
Mayfield is vaccinated, a person familiar with the situation said, and the QB indicated as much this past summer. Stefanski is also vaccinated, and the coach said Tuesday he had received a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot.
Mayfield is asymptomatic, a league source said, and Stefanski said Wednesday on Zoom he feels fine and is continuing his coaching duties virtually.
Stefanski and his coordinators are scheduled to speak to reporters Wednesday via Zoom. Instead of practicing Wednesday, the Browns will hold three separate walk-through sessions (offense, defense and special teams), and those will be closed to media.
Acting running backs coach Ryan Cordell also tested positive for COVID-19, the Browns announced.
Mayfield is among six Browns players who landed on the COVID-19 list Wednesday, a day after they had eight players test positive for breakthrough cases of the virus Tuesday.
The Browns have a total of 18 players on the COVID-19 list, including four who landed there last week. Of those 18 players, nine are starters.
In addition to Mayfield, safety John Johnson III, nickelback Troy Hill, defensive tackle Malik McDowell, defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo and practice-squad safety Nate Meadors were placed on the list Wednesday. Hill had already been expected to miss Saturday's game with a knee injury.
The Browns also promoted wide receiver Ja’Marcus Bradley from the practice squad to the active roster and signed tight end Nick Guggemos, receiver Alexander Hollins and offensive tackle Elijah Nkansah to the practice squad.
Mayfield, Stefanski and the other recent additions to the COVID-19 list who are vaccinated would need to produce two negative tests separated by 24 hours and be free of symptoms to return in time for the Raiders game at FirstEnergy Stadium. That's a long shot, based on how testing has unfolded throughout the NFL this season.
Backup quarterback Case Keenum will likely need to start Saturday.
Mayfield has been inconsistent and injured for virtually the entire season. He has been playing through a completely torn left labrum in his left, non-throwing shoulder since Week 2 and has endured several lower-body injuries along the way.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft, Mayfield has completed 62.8% of his passes for 2,603 yards and 13 touchdowns with seven interceptions for a rating of 90.1 in 12 games. His injured shoulder forced him to sit out one game, a 17-14 win over the Denver Broncos on Oct. 21, whe Keenum started for the Browns on “Thursday Night Football.”
Mayfield attended a charity event Monday with his wife, Emily. The couple visited Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio’s Elyria South Club as part of their annual “Passing the Joy” holiday celebration and interacted with children in a crowded gymnasium. A Boys & Girls Clubs spokesperson has yet to respond to a message seeking comment about the organization's response to Mayfield's positive test. Emily Mayfield has tested negative, a person familiar with the situation said.
Like Mayfield, McDowell held a charity event Monday. It was held at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio’s Cleveland Club.
Despite the outbreak among the Browns, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said Wednesday there is no change to the schedule of Saturday's game against the Raiders.
"There’s been no discussion of a change to the game’s status," he said.
The Browns spokesperson said Stefanski immediately self-isolated after learning he had tested positive.
Stefanski missed the Browns' 48-37 wild-card playoff win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Jan. 10 because he had contracted COVID-19. He watched from the basement of his suburban Cleveland home.
For the postseason game, special teams coordinator Mike Priefer served as the head coach, and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt took over Stefanski's play-calling duties.
The team spokesperson said Priefer and Van Pelt would fill those roles again if Stefanski cannot make it back in time for a game the Browns (7-6) need to win against the Raiders (6-7) to keep Cleveland's playoff hopes alive.
Coming off a 24-22 victory over the AFC North-leading Baltimore Ravens (8-5), the Browns are eighth in the conference playoff standings, with the top seven teams qualifying for the postseason, and second in the division. They have four regular-season games left.
Stefanski is the reigning NFL Coach of the Year. Hired in January 2020, Stefanski led the Browns to a record of 12-6 last season, including 1-1 in the playoffs. They earned a postseason berth for the first time since 2002 and captured a playoff victory for the first time since Jan. 1, 1995.
The NFL placed the Browns in enhanced mitigation protocols Tuesday, meaning the team must be tested for COVID-19 daily. Under normal protocols, vaccinated members of the team are required to test once a week.
"Our testing cadence of once a week, like if a guy gets in the building, there’s a chance the building might be the unsafest place for you at this time," three-time Pro Bowl left guard Joel Bitonio said Tuesday. "... We’re in intensive protocols now, and Coach Stefanski did mention to us today, ‘Let’s be safe out there. Let’s make sure we’re doing all the right things and trying to make those right decisions when we’re out and about.'"
Cleveland Browns notes:Kevin Stefanski says 'we certainly trust' O-linemen Blake Hance, Michael Dunn amid COVID-19 crisis
Nate Ulrich can be reached at [email protected].
