It’s January, and the Cleveland Browns are once again searching for a head coach. They’ve won just eight games over the past two seasons and still haven’t found their long-term answer at quarterback.
In other words, it’s another winter of soul-searching in Northeast Ohio. But as the franchise tries to reset, an old name has re-entered the conversation-loudly.
Baker Mayfield, now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, decided to stir the pot on social media this week, injecting himself into the Browns’ timeline with a message aimed squarely at Kevin Stefanski, who’s now coaching the Atlanta Falcons.
“Failed is quite the reach pal. Still waiting on a text/call from him after I got shipped off like a piece of garbage.
Can’t wait to see you twice a year, Coach.”
@bakermayfield, January 20, 2026
That tweet? Pure Baker.
Passionate, emotional, and completely unfiltered. It’s the kind of response that has defined much of his football journey-both for better and for worse.
Let’s be clear: the Browns’ trade for Deshaun Watson has been a disaster. Since 2022, when they made the move, the team has been mired in underperformance and controversy.
The Watson gamble was supposed to be the fix, the final piece for a team that believed it had a championship-caliber roster outside of the quarterback position. Instead, it’s become an anchor that could weigh down the franchise for years to come.
But that doesn’t mean the Browns were wrong in their original evaluation of Mayfield. He was talented, yes.
He had moments of brilliance. But he was also inconsistent, polarizing in the locker room, and, at times, immature.
His play in critical situations-especially late in games-often left the team wanting more. Even when healthy, the numbers didn’t support the idea of him being a top-tier franchise quarterback.
There was also a lot happening behind the scenes. A shoulder injury derailed his 2021 season.
The Odell Beckham Jr. drama fractured the locker room. And then there were personal issues that later spilled into public view, including a legal dispute with his father.
The Browns weren’t just evaluating a quarterback-they were managing a storm.
Still, the front office never saw Mayfield as a bad player. They just didn’t trust him enough to be the guy.
And when the opportunity to land Watson came around, they saw it as a chance to upgrade-on the field, at least. The plan backfired in a big way, but the motivation behind it was rooted in logic, not malice.
It’s worth noting, too, that Mayfield didn’t exactly make things easier for himself on the way out. After the 2021 season, he stopped communicating with the team, including ownership.
He went quiet while the Browns were still trying to figure out their next move. When the Watson pursuit became public, Mayfield asked for a trade.
As one person close to him once put it:
“If your wife stopped talking to you for weeks, eventually you’re going to ask for a divorce.”
That’s exactly what happened. Mayfield walked away, then later claimed he was discarded unfairly. It’s a familiar pattern.
We’ve seen this before. In Carolina, he asked for his release and then pointed fingers at interim coach Steve Wilks.
In college, he clashed with Kliff Kingsbury at Texas Tech and took shots at Gary Patterson for not recruiting him to TCU. In Cleveland, it was Hue Jackson.
Now, it’s Kevin Stefanski.
At some point, you have to ask: is it always the coach? Or is it Baker?
Mayfield’s career has followed a consistent rhythm-play with a chip on his shoulder, find motivation in perceived slights, deliver a few highlight-reel performances, then stumble again. It’s a cycle that’s hard to break, especially when it keeps getting reinforced by moments like this week’s Twitter outburst.
Now, the Buccaneers are facing the same question the Browns once did: is Baker Mayfield worth a long-term, big-money commitment? He’s been a success in Tampa, no doubt.
He’s played well enough to get people talking about an extension. But is he the kind of quarterback you build around for the next five years?
Or is he just good enough to keep you from finding someone better?
That’s the million-dollar question. And it’s one the Browns thought they had answered a few years ago.
In the end, the story of Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns is one of missed connections, mismatched expectations, and a whole lot of what-ifs. And even now, with both sides having moved on, the echoes of that relationship still linger. Because no matter where Mayfield goes or what jersey he’s wearing, the past has a way of finding him-and he has a way of answering back.