It became clear during the 2021 season that the relationship between quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Browns was beginning to be strained. Now, a report following his trade from Cleveland to the Panthers shows just how he and coach Kevin Stefanski fell out.
On Friday, The Athletic's Jason Lloyd detailed how Mayfield and Stefanski began to lose trust in one another following a successful 2020 season, and how throughout a tumultuous 2021 campaign, an eventual split became increasingly likely.
Writing a post-mortem to Mayfield's time in Cleveland, Lloyd reported the team viewed Mayfield as "childish and immature" and that his behavior in the locker room divided the team and annoyed teammates, and often made him a difficult player to coach.
The day after a 45-7 dismantling by the Patriots in Week 10, Mayfield was reportedly annoyed Stefanski missed a meeting and believed he should be at each meeting. Stefanski instead met with defensive end Myles Garrett, who had called out the coaching staff's lack of adjustments during his post-game press conference. Stefanski reportedly never missed another meeting and privately called out Mayfield during film sessions.
BAKER MAYFIELD TRADE: Grades | Details
As the season went on, Stefanski continued to lose trust in Mayfield, Lloyd reported. Mayfield was no longer feeling confident in himself, and during the Week 17 clash against the Steelers when he was sacked nine times, he questioned why rookie offensive tackle James Hudson wasn't receiving more support against T.J. Watt.
The team, however, believed Mayfield had plenty of time to pass, but that he lacked confidence in himself or what he saw available on the field.
Lloyd also reported the team wasn't faced with a power struggle, but rather that it felt Mayfield was not good enough to be the starter moving forward.
MORE: Who will be Panthers' starting QB in 2022?
The 2021 season was a major step back for the Browns and their 2018 first overall selection. Mayfield built excitement around his future in a breakout rookie season in 2018 when he started 13 games and threw 27 touchdowns and 14 interceptions with 3,725 passing yards.
Following a sophomore slump in 2019, Mayfield put together his best season when he completed 62.8 percent of his passes for 3,563 yards, 26 touchdowns and only eight interceptions, leading the Browns to an 11-5 regular-season record, a wild-card spot and the team's first playoff win since 1994.
But the 2021 season was rocky from the start. He injured his left shoulder in the second week of the season, but continued to play through the ailment throughout the campaign despite it clearly hampering his performance.
MORE: Why Browns are paying most of QB's 2022 salary after trade
Midway through the campaign, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. forced his way out of Cleveland, beginning with an Instagram post from his father of Mayfield missing throws to his son.
Mayfield struggled throughout the season and finished with 3,010 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions as the Browns finished 8-9 and missed the playoffs.
After the season, the Browns began to explore other quarterback options, though maintained publicly that Mayfield was likely to be the starter in his fifth and final year under contract with Cleveland. After a report emerged the Browns wanted an "adult" at quarterback, it became more clear the team was likely not going to see him play another snap.
When the Browns traded for Deshaun Watson, who at the time faced more than 20 accusations of sexual assault and misconduct, Mayfield officially requested a trade, and later said he felt disrespected by the team.
Now, after eating more than $10 million of his salary, the Browns were able to trade Mayfield to the Panthers, after he agreed to give up $3 million to play for the team. The team and player collectively absorbing more than $13 million for him to play in a different city is about as good a sign as any that neither Cleveland nor Mayfield wanted anything more to do with one another in the end.
It's worth mentioning that while calling Mayfield's character into question isn't a new venture, the timing post-trade cannot be overlooked.
