BEREA, Ohio (AP) Baker Mayfield dressed as Browns general manager John Dorsey for the team’s rookie talent show.
Suiting up as a starting quarterback won’t happen for a while.
Following practice on Tuesday, Mayfield ended his first NFL training camp with a stunning impersonation of Dorsey, the team’s glasses-wearing, gum-chewing GM who favors wearing a Browns sweat shirt – regardless of weather.
The team posted a video of Mayfield , his feet up on a desk, playfully mocking Dorsey with a message to Cleveland’s players. Mayfield didn’t reprise his parody for reporters, but his teammates loved the impression – as strong as the one he’s made over the past month.
The Heisman Trophy winner has been everything the Browns had hoped.
And nothing like the cocky QB he had been portrayed as coming out of Oklahoma.
”When I look at what Baker has done, walking in here, handling everything form the media to his teammates to all of the expectations and all of that, I think that he has been outstanding,” coach Hue Jackson said. ”I can’t say that enough. He is handling all of this the right way, and I think that is very, very important for his future and what he is trying to accomplish.”
For now, Mayfield is a backup, No. 2 behind starter Tyrod Taylor.
The Browns are grooming Mayfield for the future, and at this point, there are no plans for him to start – unless Taylor gets hurt.
Mayfield, who has shown poise during his two exhibition performances, has been soaking in whatever he can from Taylor, who helped the Buffalo Bills end a lengthy playoff drought last season.
”You can learn a lot from him,” Mayfield said. ”Seeing how he prepares for little details in certain plays and what he looks for, that has been a big thing for me to take away from him. Just certain things to help the elimination process as a quarterback, going faster at the line of scrimmage. Just hearing what he says about those things.”
Taylor will get his most extended playing time of the preseason on Thursday night when the Browns host the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. The third preseason game is considered a ”dress rehearsal” for the regular season, and for Mayfield, it may be as close to the real thing as he experiences for some time.
Mayfield attended last season’s Super Bowl in Minneapolis as a fan, and he’s looking forward to seeing the Eagles up close.
The champs will show the Browns how far they’ve come and how far they need to go.
”Anytime you play competition like that it’s important to realize that they won it for a reason, they know what they’re doing,” Mayfield said.
”They play as a team, so you’ve got to play well on all three phases of the ball. We’ve got to take advantage of scoring, position when we’re in their red zone and we’ve got to take all the points we can get, so anytime you’re playing a team like that that’s had success you’ve got to know, every single point matters.”
The end of Mayfield’s training camp coincided with him unveiling his newest endorsement – underwear.
Mayfield has his own signature line of underwear from PSD, and the boxer briefs come in two varieties: Browns or Sooners colors.
To promote the launch, Mayfield posed shirtless alongside a tiger in a recreation of a scene from ”The Hangover.”
Mayfield said there was no scrambling on the set while posing next to the large animal.
”It’s one thing to watch Animal Planet and it’s another to watch them feed it 12-ounce filets right in front of you,” he said. ”Pretty scary.”
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