NFL Notes: Baker Mayfield, Broncos, Titans

Baker Mayfield

Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield was non-committal about whether he would play in the 2018 Senior Bowl, given that his Mom isn’t doing so well.

“My mom’s not doing too great,” Mayfield said, per Nicki Jhabvala. “Family first. Always. Doesn’t matter what the situation is. I would never put myself before my mom. . . . As soon as I found out, I booked my flight home. It wasn’t about delaying measuring. I’ll measure tomorrow if it’s that big of a deal. I don’t care. Like I said, family first.”

Mayfield added that while people want to portray him as a “bad boy“, he loved the game and will do whatever it takes to win.

“Everybody wants to portray the bad boy, the Johnny Manziel stuff, but I love the game of football,” Mayfield said, per Nicki Jhabvala. “There’s no doubt about that. I’m an emotional player. I do anything it takes to win. I love being around my teammates, and I love leading and having responsibility.”

• Broncos HC Vance Joseph said that Mayfield “performed” at practice and has the “it” factor: “Mayfield came off the plane right to practice & performed today. He’s got “it.” (SiriusXM NFL Radio)

Broncos

• Broncos HC Vance Joseph said that QB Paxton Lynch is “talented” and has a “lots of promise” but still needs more time to develop: “Lots of promise for Paxton. He did some good stuff. He made progress. He needs to play more so we can see where he’s at but by no means he’s done. By no means at all. He’s a talented guy who needs more time to develop.” (SiriusXM NFL Radio)

Titans

New Titans HC Mike Vrabel said he is doing his diligence in putting a staff together and that he intends on signing a defensive coordinator who will call the plays.

“I want to put together a great staff, and I am not rushing that,” Vrabel said, via Jim Wyatt of the Titans’ official site. “You only get so many cracks at this thing. I am not going to hire a bunch of my buddies – I don’t have that many of them. I don’t think that is the way to go. I am looking for the right guys, the best guys to coach our team.”

Vrable added that he intends to have the defensive coordinator call the plays, but Vrable will step in if there is a play he wants to call.

“The DC will make the play calls – he will call the game,” Vrabel said. “And if I tell him to run something, he is going to run it. … The defensive coordinator is going to call 100 percent of the game, except for when I tell him the one time I want to pressure the quarterback. We are going to have a great line of communication.”

Regarding Ohio State co-OC Ryan Day being a candidate for the Titans’ offensive coordinator vacancy, Vrabel confirmed that Day was one of a “few candidates” but he elected to stay at OSU.

“Ryan was one of a few candidates,” Vrabel said. “Ryan has a job at Ohio State, I love Ohio State, and we’re going to interview the right guys for our offense and our team.