With great anticipation, the Cleveland Browns selected Baker Mayfield with the first overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, coming from the Oklahoma Sooners, hoping he would become the player the franchise had been yearning for to be competitive. Since 1999, the team had only made the playoffs a few times-until Mayfield made them competitive again.
It wasn’t until the 2020 season, when Kevin Stefanski was named head coach of the Browns, that he and Mayfield led the team to the playoffs. Not only that, but they also defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wildcard round, marking the franchise’s first playoff win in that stage since 1994.
However, although Mayfield put the Browns back on the competitive map, the 2021 season-marred by injuries and poor performance-ultimately cost him his job as quarterback. Cleveland then made the major mistake of signing Deshaun Watson as the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history, a move that turned out to be a failure.
Baker Mayfield attacks Kevin Stefanski on social media
After the 2021 season, Mayfield was let go to make way for Deshaun Watson, who signed a five-year, $230 million guaranteed contract-the largest in NFL history at the time. But to date, due to suspensions and injuries, Watson has only played 19 games for the Browns.
Since Mayfield’s departure and Watson’s poor performances, the Browns have struggled to stabilize the quarterback position, which ultimately cost Kevin Stefanski his job, despite being named “Head Coach of the Year” twice while in Cleveland.
Mayfield was bitter about not being valued in Cleveland and attacked Stefanski on social media, reminding him how he was let go. He also expressed excitement about facing him twice a year now that Stefanski has become the new head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.
This means the rivalry between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South will intensify, with all eyes on the matchups between Baker Mayfield and his former coach, Kevin Stefanski.
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