Baker Mayfield Slams Report Of Rift With Head Coach Kevin Stefanski

The Cleveland Browns came into this season with Super Bowl aspirations. But after Baker Mayfield got hurt and proceeded to play some of his worst football, Kevin Stefanski’s offense has proven to be an Achilles heel down the stretch. And now, Cleveland has been officially eliminated from postseason contention.

When a season goes so awry, we often see some rifts start to mount in the locker room. And for Browns fans, they may have an issue with Baker and Stefanski.

According to some reports, Mayfield has been fed up with the play-calling for most of the year and would prefer someone else to run the team’s offense.

#Browns Baker Mayfield must resolve his differences with Kevin Stefanski soon in case they need to co-exist next season; Also, some names that will be on the radar if they don't https://t.co/waNKPGtnJV

— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) January 6, 2022

Per the report:

“Mayfield’s issues with Stefanski bubbled below the surface most of the season, with Mayfield feeling like Stefanski’s playcalling didn’t always put him in position to succeed or play to his strengths, sources told cleveland.com.”

Baker Mayfield was quick to trash the report that he had any sort of disconnect whatsoever with Kevin Stefanski.

Clickbait. You and many other Cleveland local media continue to be drama stirring reporters with no sources or facts. Don’t put words in my mouth so you can put food on your table. I’m not your puppet. https://t.co/MfHnqWk65s

— Baker Mayfield (@bakermayfield) January 6, 2022

On Thursday, Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt spoke on the reported disconnect between Baker Mayfield and Kevin Stefanski.

“I’ve seen zero of that. … I know the line of communication is wide open between those two guys. I know they’ve met weekly on Tuesdays to make sure everything is good. I don’t feel that at all,” Van Pelt told reporters.

For Kevin Stefanski, it’s be pretty hard not to expect him to be frustrated (to some degree) by the performance of Baker Mayfield in 2021. Sure, the shoulder injury doesn’t help. But I don’t think anyone inside the organization expected a 17-13 TD/INT ratio this season for their fourth-year starting QB.

At the end of the day, the Browns and Baker are going to have to make a decision. And perhaps it’d be best for both Kevin Stefanski and Baker Mayfield if they worked out a trade in the offseason.

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