Former Bucs QB Calls Baker Mayfield ‘Dumb’ for Comments Against Kevin Stefanski

No one holds a grudge and a chip on their shoulder quite like Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield. He's well known for finding motivation in those who doubt him, and he did it in quite the high-profile way this month after the Atlanta Falcons hired head coach Kevin Stefanski.

Stefanski was Mayfield's head coach with the Cleveland Browns in 2021 when he was traded to the Carolina Panthers. Stefanski was part of the brain trust that wanted Deshaun Watson to come to Cleveland to replace him, and Mayfield made his thoughts on Stefanski very apparent in a social media post.

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. https://t.co/jUUsYkvlOC
— Baker Mayfield (@bakermayfield) January 20, 2026

While many Bucs fans were excited to see this, some are not so thrilled. One former Buccaneers quarterback, Shaun King, wasn't a fan of the post, and he, like Mayfield, didn't hold back any feelings about it on a recent podcast appearance.

Former Buccaneers QB Shaun King rips into Baker Mayfield

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Shaun King (10) in action against the Oakland Raiders at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. | Peter Brouillet-Imagn Images

King believed that Mayfield shouldn't be posting on social media after Tampa Bay's collapse and his drastic downturn in play halfway through the year.

"Go make yourself a sandwich," King said on the Coach JB Show. "We just lost eight of our last nine games... have you lost your godd**n mind? You play like the trash you say he shipped out of Cleveland. Let’s not get carried away — Baker has been deaf, dumb and stupid ever since he thought he was on the MVP hunt after Week 4 or 5. And I’m a Baker fan. You’ve heard me say ‘In Baker we trust’ all the time, but Baker, you need to get it together, dog. You're borderline delusional."

To be clear, it was seven of the Bucs' last nine games that they lost, not eight. King's words were quite harsh, and don't take into account how well Mayfield played football in 2023 and 2024, but Mayfield did indeed take a sharp downturn in the second half of the year compared to the first half. He had an EPA/play of 0.107 in his first eight games and then just 0.003 in his last nine, per SumerSports, His EPA/dropback also plummeted, going from 0.055 in his first eight games to -0.060 in his last nine.

Injury has often been the cited reason for his drastic decline, but there hasn't been anything confirming this was the case. King is right that Mayfield needs to play better, but there's also an argument that things like his social media post are what help him do that.

Mayfield is in the last year of the contract he signed in 2024, and if he wants to be extended in Tampa Bay at a high-market value, he'll look to get back to form this upcoming season. Otherwise, doubters like King will have plenty of more ammo.

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