Report: Mayfield frustrated with Stefanski, wanted new play-caller
Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield grew so frustrated with Kevin Stefanski in 2021 that he wanted the head coach to surrender play-calling duties, according to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com.
Mayfield, who will sit out Week 18 and is set to undergo shoulder surgery by the end of January, reportedly felt Stefanski was ignoring the quarterback's strengths and failing to put him in positions to succeed.
The fourth-year signal-caller struggled through his second season with Stefanski after enjoying a breakout under his tutelage in 2020. But there were times this season where Mayfield reportedly would've preferred to have offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt call the plays.
Mayfield soured on the Browns' three-tight end, run-heavy approach by October, Cabot reports, desiring more of the play-action bootlegs he successfully ran last season.
The 26-year-old publicly criticized the Browns' offensive approach twice down the stretch. He said the Browns "got too conservative" after they nearly blew an 18-point lead to the Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 12, and he questioned why rookie right tackle James Hudson was repeatedly left one-on-one against Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt in pass protection on Jan. 3. Watt sacked Mayfield four times that night, leading the Steelers to victory.
Mayfield shot down the story on Twitter, calling it "clickbait."
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
The No. 1 pick of the 2018 draft has one year left on his rookie contract.