Google News NFL insider details why Browns were annoyed with Baker Mayfield
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NFL insider Jason Lloyd has provided some details on why the relationship between the Cleveland Browns and Baker Mayfield fell apart as the Browns thought viewed the quarterback as "childish" and "immature." In the 2018 NFL draft, the Browns selected Mayfield as their first overall pick, hoping he would help turn the franchise around and bring the city their first Super Bowl.
Four years later, Mayfield is out of Cleveland after a messy split with the team. This week, the Browns announced they agreed to trade Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers. Shortly after the trade went down, Lloyd of The Athletic revealed what he has heard from those close to the Browns.
“Mayfield was widely viewed as childish and immature,” Lloyd wrote for The Athletic. “His behavior annoyed teammates and divided the locker room. He was often difficult to coach”.
Mayfield's relationship with Kevin Stefanski went south in 2021
In 2020, Mayfield led the Browns to a playoff appearance and helped the team win their first playoff game in 26 years.
The relationship between Mayfield and Browns coach Stefanski got along well in their first season together but their relationship went south last season. “Mayfield and Stefanski were terrific dance partners in 2020, guiding the Browns to the postseason and the team’s only playoff win of the new era,” wrote Lloyd.
“Stefanski spent their first season together trying hard to get Mayfield comfortable early in games with simple pitch-and-catch routes before getting more aggressive as the game progressed. It worked well for a while, but the relationship soured like so many others involving Mayfield.
By the time it was over, there was a lack of trust on both sides. Mayfield was annoyed Stefanski missed a meeting the day after the Browns were thrashed by the Patriots and thought the play-caller should attend every session.
Stefanski was absent because he was meeting instead with Myles Garrett, according to a source, after Garrett lashed out to the media postgame over the coaching staff’s lack of adjustments at New England. In one of those ‘careful what you wish for’ moments, Stefanski never missed another meeting and privately shined a glaring spotlight on his quarterback during film sessions from that day forward”.
Now, the Browns have Deshaun Watson as their new starting quarterback, while Mayfield gets another chance to prove himself in the NFL with the Panthers.