×

Browns’ Mayfield out, Keenum starting

By WJBD Staff Oct 21, 2021 | 6:47 AM

UNDATED (AP) — Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield will sit out Thursday’s game against the Denver Broncos with a painful left shoulder injury.

Cleveland announced that backup Case Keenum will start, ending speculation about whether Mayfield would try to push through an injury to his non-throwing shoulder that he suffered last month and has worsened in recent weeks.

Keenum has made 62 career NFL starts, most recently for Washington in 2019.

In other NFL news:

— The 49ers are optimistic starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo can return this week from a right calf injury but don’t expect backup Trey Lance back for another week. Coach Kyle Shanahan says Garoppolo will be limited at practice after missing one game with the injury and is on target to play Sunday night against Indianapolis. Lance sprained his left knee when he started in place of Garoppolo.

— Broncos quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has a quadriceps injury in addition to his sore left foot and is questionable for the game at Cleveland on Thursday night. Bridgewater got hit 17 times in Denver’s third consecutive loss Sunday, two weeks after he was knocked out of a game against the Ravens with a concussion. What left him limping was right guard Graham Glasgow stepping on his left foot just as he delivered a touchdown throw to Noah Fant in the closing minutes.

— The Texans have released veteran defensive end Whitney Mercilus. Mercilus was one of the longest-tenured players on the team after most of the team’s stars have been traded or released in recent years.

— Washington has released longtime kicker Dustin Hopkins and signed Chris Blewitt as his replacement. Hopkins missed two extra point attempts in a win over the Falcons, but he’s 12-for-14 on field goals. He was in his seventh season with the team.

— The league has agreed to end race-based adjustments in dementia testing that critics said made it difficult for Black retirees to qualify for awards in the $1 billion settlement of concussion claims. That’s according to a proposed deal filed Wednesday in federal court. The revised testing plan follows public outrage over the use of “race-norming,” a practice that came to light only after two former NFL players filed a civil rights lawsuit over it in 2019. Critics of race-norming say the adjustments may have prevented hundreds of Black players suffering from dementia to win awards that average $500,000 or more.