Tampa Bay QB Baker Mayfield didn't hold back when talking about Kevin Stefanski. And now, the NFL world is picking sides.

NFL expert and Cleveland Browns podcaster Tony Rizzo weighed in on the controversy.

“Baker’s right. Baker was not a failure here. Now, did it end well? No, no. But Baker didn’t fail in Cleveland. He won you a playoff game in Pittsburgh, I might add,” he said. 

Having joined the Browns as a Heisman winner in 2018, expectations about Mayfield were riding high. He delivered with 3,725 passing yards and 27 touchdowns in his rookie year. When Kevin Stefanski joined in 2020, he guided the Browns to their first playoffs in years. He even helped beat the Steelers 48–37 in the Wild Card round before falling to the Chiefs in the Divisional Round.

However, Rizzo also said that the 30-year-old quarterback didn’t need to start the entire argument. “What I would say to Baker is, why light the fire? You gotta play Stefanski twice a year. I don't know, does it help him get fired up?”

Mayfield sent a fiery response to D. Orlando Ledbetter, who called him a failure for the Browns. He took a dig at Stefanski, but also accused him of not texting or calling him after his departure to the Panthers in the 2022 offseason. More importantly, he sent a cheeky warning to Stefanski since Tampa would face off against Atlanta in the NFC South with Kevin Stefanski, now as the latter's coach.

Pat McAfee on Baker Mayfield's resentment of Kevin Stefanski

On The Pat McAfee Show, he stated that the Texas native didn't like Stefanski one bit. He referenced Cleveland's game against the Steelers in Game Week 17 of the 2021 season to portray how he treated Mayfield.

"Last game Mayfield was there. He had a fractured left shoulder. Stefanski went out there against the Pittsburgh Steelers and had him throw the ball 38 times. In that game, he got sacked nine times, so you're talking about 'boom', 'boom', 'boom'. So its' like, Stefanski's trying to k*** this guy."

Ultimately, Mayfield went on to play just one more game for the Browns. Cleveland traded him to the Panthers and got Deshaun Watson in the 2022 offseason.

In four seasons, he scored a total of 92 touchdowns for 14,125 passing yards. What do you think about the whole saga? Let us know in the comments!

Written by

Kalp Thaker

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar