Joe Thomas has entered the chat.
A day after Baker Mayfield took a swipe at his former Cleveland Browns coach and new NFC South rival Kevin Stefanski, Thomas weighed in on the simmering beef. He’s team Stefanski.
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Thomas, an eight-time All-Pro and 10-time Pro Bowl former left tackle for the Browns, posted this on social media Wednesday:
“I could be wrong,” Thomas wrote. “But I’ve heard that communication is a 2-way street and there are no laws against you (Baker) sending Stefanski a text or calling him after you got traded.”
In case you missed it, Thomas’ tweet is in response to one from Mayfield on Tuesday taking a shot at Stefanski out of left field.
Why is Baker mad?
Stefanski was recently hired as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons following six seasons as Cleveland’s head coach.
On Tuesday, Atlanta Journal-Constitution writer D. Orlando Ledbetter wrote a story on Stefanski and tweeted that “Stefanski had a dumpster fire at quarterback in Cleveland” and that Mayfield “failed” as the Browns’ starting quarterback.
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Mayfield took umbrage at this. And he used the opportunity to bring up old beef with Stefanksi, whom he’ll now face twice a season as the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
“Failed is quite the reach pal,” Mayfield wrote in response to Ledbetter. “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.”
“Pal,” in this instance is Ledbetter. “Coach” is Stefanski. And Mayfield is clearly still steaming over his Browns tenure.
To be clear, Stefanski didn’t say or do anything to provoke Mayfield. Not recently or publicly, at least. But Ledbetter’s comments opened old wounds for Mayfield, who’s not pleased with how his time in Cleveland ended in 2022, four seasons after the Browns selected him with the No. 1 pick in the draft.
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And now the stage is set for some more bad blood in an NFC South that’s never lacking for spice.
At its core, this is lingering Browns beef. And Thomas is as Browns as it gets.
Thomas played his entire 11-season NFL career with the Browns and retired after the 2017 season. He didn’t play with Mayfield (drafted in 2018) or play under Stefanski, who coached his first year with the Browns in 2020.
But before Myles Garrett, Thomas was unquestionably the best player in modern Browns history since the franchise returned to the league in 1999. His voice carries weight in Cleveland.
As for moving forward, this will surely be revisited the first time the Bucs and Falcons play next season — if not sooner.
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