By: Robert Craft

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Baker Mayfield might have extra motivation when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on the Atlanta Falcons next season, and it has everything to do with Atlanta’s new head coach, Kevin Stefanski.

Stefanski, who is joining the Falcons after spending five years in Cleveland, was Mayfield’s coach during his first two seasons with the Browns (2020, 2021).

Their collaboration ended when the Browns traded Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers for a conditional 2024 draft pick (a fifth-rounder that became a fourth-rounder)

Based on his Tuesday evening tweet, Mayfield appears to be unhappy with how his tenure in Cleveland ended.

“Still waiting on a text/call from him after I got shipped off like a piece of garbage,” Mayfield posted on X on Tuesday night. “Can’t wait to see you twice a year, Coach.”

Mayfield’s shot came in response to a reporter’s post asserting that Stefanski’s quarterbacks room in Cleveland was a “dumpster fire,” and that Mayfield and his successor, Deshaun Watson, had “failed.”

“Failed is quite the reach pal,” Mayfield wrote.

The Browns selected Mayfield with the first pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, and he compiled a 29-30 record as a starter during his four seasons with the franchise.

His best season in Cleveland was Stefanski’s first (2020). Mayfield completed 62.8 percent of his passes that year for 3,563 yards, 26 touchdowns and just eight interceptions.

The Browns went 11-5 and won a playoff game in the wild-card round before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Mayfield and the Browns weren’t able to match that success in 2021, however, and the franchise decided to part ways with the quarterback.

Mayfield’s time with the Panthers didn’t last. Carolina waived Mayfield in December 2022 after he went 1-5 as a starter.

The Rams later claimed Mayfield, and he played well enough in his four starts with Los Angeles that he earned a shot with the Bucs as a free agent.

After helping Tampa Bay win the NFC South in 2023, Mayfield signed a three-year, $100 million contract extension with the club.

While Mayfield resurrected his career as QB1, the Browns made one more playoff appearance after his departure but won just eight games through the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

Did the Browns make Mayfield toxic? Or was he already that way and his environment just brought it to the surface? Whatever side you believe, one thing is certain: Mayfield will never change. He is who he is.

The Browns certainly did not set Mayfield up for success early in his career with three head coaches and three offensive coordinators in his first three years in the league.

Now the Buccaneers are facing the same hard questions Browns personnel once had to answer. Mayfield is entering the final year of his deal in Tampa. He has been a success for the Bucs, but is he worth a top-scale quarterback contract? If not, then what?

The more things change, the more they stay the same. That goes for Baker Mayfield, too.