Did NFC personnel evaluator take shot at Browns over Baker Mayfield flourishing with Buccaneers?

Roughly three years after the Cleveland Browns agreed to trade Baker Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers, he is seen by analysts and observers as a top-10 quarterback who helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers claim back-to-back division titles. 

While speaking with Matt Verderame of Sports Illustrated, an unnamed NFC personnel evaluator may have taken a shot at Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski and others within the Browns regarding the organization's handling of Mayfield during and after the 2021 season.

"I think Mayfield is proof of the concept of coaching matters, systems matter, team build matters," that evaluator said. "But more than anything, if you can process quickly and get the ball out on time from the pocket, you don't have to be 6-foot-5 to play (quarterback) in this league. He has become a professional quarterback as opposed to a college kid just running plays."

Cleveland made Mayfield the first overall pick of the 2018 draft, and he guided the 2020 Browns to a playoff berth and a road postseason victory. However, he then suffered a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder in Week 2 of the 2021 season that impacted his play throughout the campaign. Subsequent stories hinted that Stefanski and Mayfield didn't have a great working relationship that season and that people "close to Mayfield" wondered if the club let him play hurt because it wanted "to more easily explain why it might be moving on from him in the offseason." 

Cleveland eventually offered Deshaun Watson a fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract to accept a trade from the Houston Texans in March 2022. That may go down as one of the worst roster decisions ever made by an NFL franchise that's still looking for a long-term QB1, while Mayfield thrived across his first two years with Tampa Bay. 

Per Pro Football Reference, Mayfield ended the 2024 regular season ranked fourth among qualified quarterbacks with a 106.8 passer rating, third with 4,500 passing yards and tied for second with 41 passing touchdowns. As of Thursday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Buccaneers seventh among the betting favorites at +1300 odds to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LX. Meanwhile, some analysts are predicting the Browns will finish the upcoming season with the league's worst record.

One can only wonder what Mayfield could have been for Cleveland had he been given the coaching, offensive systems and "team build" that he found in Tampa.