#Browns coach on alleged Baker Mayfield-Kevin Stefanski tension

How deep do the Browns’ problems go?

A report from Cleveland.com on Wednesday night detailed the alleged friction between Baker Mayfield and head coach Kevin Stefanski, with tension appearing to fester for a good part of the season. Sources claim that Mayfield felt Stefanski’s playcalling abilities “didn’t always put him in position to succeed or play to his strengths,” per the report.

On Thursday, however, Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt shut down speculation that there’s bad blood between Mayfield and Stefanski, who will wrap his second season on Sunday against the Bengals after falling short of the playoffs.

“[I’ve] seen zero of that,” Van Pelt said, per Browns analyst Fred Greetham. “I know the line of communication is wide open between those two guys. I know they met weekly, on Tuesdays to make sure everything was good. I don’t feel that at all, I don’t.”

Stefanski, who led the Browns to the playoffs last season, has already shut down Mayfield for the team’s season finale as the 26-year-old quarterback is set to have shoulder surgery this month.

Mayfield, the first overall pick in 2018, will have the procedure to repair a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder, which he had reportedly been playing through since the start of the season. Following Monday’s 26-14 loss to the Steelers, Mayfield told the media he was “pretty damn beat up.”

“I’ve continued to lay it out on the line and I haven’t been healthy and tried to fight for our guys. Right now, I’m pretty damn beat up to be honest with you. There’s no way around it. I gave it everything I had tonight,” he said.

Mayfield’s numbers have dipped from last year, leading to questions about his long-term future with the franchise. Through 14 games this season, Mayfield has thrown 3,010 yards for 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, whereas in 2020, he logged 3,563 yards for 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 16 games.

“There’s been a lot of ups and downs [this season],” Mayfield said Monday, according to ESPN. “Do I believe I could play better? Absolutely. Do I believe there’s positions that we, as an offense could have been put in that are better? Absolutely. There’s so many critiques throughout the year. If there wasn’t, we wouldn’t be sitting here at 7-9.”

Mayfield is under contract for the Browns for the 2022 season.