Tyrod Taylor prepared to block out noise about Baker Mayfield

While so much of the attention at Cleveland Browns camp will be on Baker Mayfield, he isn’t even going to be the starting quarterback.

That job belongs to Tyrod Taylor, who said it’s his duty to block out the chatter about Mayfield, and he believes he can do it.

“Absolutely,” Taylor said, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “It’s part of the job. It’s part of being a leader, being able to take on questions, even on days that you don’t want to take them on. I’m here to help turn this organization around. We have a step for us to take tomorrow (at the start of OTAs) and I’m looking forward to it as well as everyone else.”

If anything, Taylor is fueled by the underdog mentality he has.

“I was drafted in 2011,” Taylor said. “(10) quarterbacks were taken ahead of me. Two of them are playing now (Cam Newton and Andy Dalton). And that’s not any disrespect to the guys who aren’t playing, but what drove me every day was remembering my mom and my parents’ faces and the feeling that I had on draft day, not being happy about that. So I’m going to continue to keep pushing, continue to keep working the way I do.

“[I’m] ready to take my game to the next level. I think that I’ve been able to take steps in the right direction each year that I’ve been able to play the game. So I’m excited about the opportunity that I have here. There’s so much talent on this team and guys that are in the right mindset.”

Taylor has been assured of the starting job, but it still feels tenuous as the expectation settles on Mayfield. The veteran quarterback looks to be handling it as well as can be expected.