Browns Legend Fires Back at Baker Mayfield Over Simmering Feud With Kevin Stefanski

Joe Thomas criticized Baker Mayfield for his blunt takedown of former Browns coach Kevin Stefanski. | Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images

The recently unearthed Baker Mayfield-Kevin Stefanski feud just got a little more interesting: Browns great Joe Thomas has weighed in on Mayfield’s stunningly blunt message to his former coach.

For those who haven’t seen the news, Mayfield took an unexpected shot at Stefanski on social media in the wake of Stefanski landing a new job with the Falcons and entering Mayfield’s division in 2026. In a fiery tweet, Mayfield denied that his stint on the Browns was a “failed” one and crushed Stefanski for not contacting him after he “got shipped off like a piece of garbage.”

Thomas didn’t seem to like Mayfield’s take and offered a polarizing one of his own:

“I could be wrong...but I've heard that communication is a 2-way street and there were no laws against you (Baker) sending Stefanski a text or calling him after you got traded,” Thomas wrote.

I could be wrong...but I've heard that communication is a 2-way street and there were no laws against you (Baker) sending Stefanski a text or calling him after you got traded🧐 https://t.co/y7hI6zptax

— Joe Thomas (@joethomas73) January 21, 2026

Mayfield and Stefanski’s simmering feud aside, Thomas’s take is pretty awful. His argument is that Mayfield could have simply initiated contact first, but given that the Browns were the ones to move on from him and trade him to the Panthers, Mayfield shouldn’t be expected to make the classy move, especially with how his final years in Cleveland played out.

Baker Mayfield and Kevin Stefanski fallout explained

While it’s unclear exactly when things started to go south for Mayfield and Stefanski in Cleveland, the two notably spent a mixed two seasons together in 2020 and ‘21. In their first year together, Mayfield led the Browns to an 11-5 record and a playoff appearance, perhaps signaling brighter days ahead. But the following season, Mayfield saw his quarterback play regress in part due to his injuries—including a torn labrum—and he ended up winning just six games while throwing 17 touchdowns against 13 interceptions.

In that final tumultuous year, Mayfield and Stefanski appeared to be on the outs, according to The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd.

Lloyd wrote in a 2022 piece:

“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.

“...By the end of last season, however, it was clear Stefanski had lost faith in his quarterback. Mayfield lost confidence in himself and what he was seeing and therefore his head coach could no longer trust him. Mayfield was irate by the protection calls in his final game at Pittsburgh when he was sacked nine times and had five passes batted down at the line.”

Lloyd added that Mayfield was “difficult to coach” and that his personality divided the Browns’ locker room. Mayfield didn’t seem to be everybody’s cup of tea back then, and from the looks of it, he definitely wasn’t Stefanski’s. His rollercoaster four-year tenure with the Browns came to a dramatic end after Cleveland traded him—by his request—to the Panthers shortly after their successful pursuit of Deshaun Watson.

“It's in the mutual interest of both sides for us to move on,” Mayfield said of his requested trade from the Browns. “The relationship is too far gone to mend.”

Mayfield has since settled down in a better-fitting home on the Buccaneers, helping lead Tampa Bay to a pair of playoff berths in 2023 and ‘24 and narrowly missing out on a berth this past season. He’ll now face a familiar face and new divisional rival in Stefanski twice a year, as his Bucs and Stefanski’s Falcons battle for control of the NFC South. Break out the popcorn—it’s going to be a good one.

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