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Baker Mayfield 'excited' to make his preseason debut with Cleveland Browns tonight

Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield is "excited" to make his preseason against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium tonight.
Credit: Matt Florjancic, WKYC Digital Sports
Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield goes through a drill during a recent training-camp practice at the team's Berea headquarters.

BEREA, Ohio -- Rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield is set to make his preseason debut for the Cleveland Browns when they take the field against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey tonight.

And after two weeks of training camp as well as an offseason program of work, Mayfield is ready to play in his first preseason game.

“I’m excited,” Mayfield said ahead of Tuesday’s practice. “You can tell the guys are pretty excited to get out there Thursday and compete against somebody else besides yourself.

“Anytime I get the chance to play ball, yeah, I get excited, but however much I play, I’ve got to take advantage of the opportunity, that’s for sure.”

After being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of the University of Oklahoma, Mayfield came into the offseason program as the No. 3 quarterback, but by the time Organized Team Activities and mandatory minicamp came to an end in mid-June, he had moved up to the second spot on the depth chart.

Because first-team quarterback Tyrod Taylor is not expected to receive much playing time in the preseason opener, Browns coach Hue Jackson said Mayfield can expect to play “quite a bit” against the Giants.

“Another chance to compete,” Mayfield said. “I think it’s going to be a good test for us to see how we translate what we’ve been working on and take it out against somebody else and see if we can execute it.

“I think whenever I get a chance to get my reps in, that’s a good challenge for me, to go up against a defense instead of just learning it out there, seeing what I can translate on the playing field. I think that’s the challenge for me and whoever I’m with. I still have to do my job and the most important thing for me is raising their expectations and their level of play as well.”

Credit: Matt Florjancic, WKYC Digital Sports
Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield goes through a drill during a recent training-camp practice at the team's Berea headquarters.

Heading into his first preseason game, Mayfield wants to execute the plays called by offensive coordinator Todd Haley and continue to show the progress he has made since joining the team for workouts back in May.

“I’ll go out there and compete, do the best job of executing our gameplan and just competing against them,” Mayfield said. “I think for me, it’s not looking at it like I have to handle it any different. I still want to go out there and still lead our offense and lead our team, so I’m not going to handle it much differently.

“The improvements I’ve been working on -- command of the offense, knowing where to go with the ball, you’re not seeing the same looks we’ve been seeing for months now, so making sure [I] put the ball in the right spot. Taking care of it [is a] priority always and just getting it out quickly.”

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