Browns' Mayfield injures knee in blowout loss to Patriots

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield suffered a knee injury while taking a hit in the third quarter of Sunday's 45-7 loss to the New England Patriots.

Mayfield briefly went into the medical tent before returning to the bench. He was listed as questionable and didn't return to the contest with the Patriots up 31-7 at the time.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski said postgame that Mayfield was healthy enough to return, but he opted to keep the signal-caller on the sideline, according to Ben Axelrod of WKYC 3News.

"Baker's a competitor. Just didn't feel it was the right thing to put him back out there," Stefanski said.

Mayfield assured that postgame X-rays showed no structural damage, according to ESPN's Jake Trotter.

"Pretty beat up right now," Mayfield added, per Baillie Burmaster of Cleveland 19 News.

Case Keenum replaced Mayfield, who entered the game with a left shoulder injury and a foot issue. Keenum finished the afternoon with 81 yards on 11-for-21 passing.

Mayfield was in the midst of one of his worst games this season before exiting. He completed just 11 of 21 passes for 73 yards and one touchdown against one interception.