Is Kevin Stefanski already looking to replace Baker Mayfield?

The former Minnesota Vikings assistant could already be shuffling things around in Cleveland.

When the Cleveland Browns decided to hire former Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski as their new head coach, they brought him in to change the fortunes of a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2002.

In order to do this, Stefanski knows he might have to make some drastic decisions that people probably aren’t going to agree with. But at the same time, how are the Browns going to turn things around without changing how they typically do things?

Despite Cleveland already having a starting quarterback in place for the 2020 season in Baker Mayfield, the former Vikings assistant coach and his new team did inquire about a former MVP signal-caller this year according to a recent report.

Former Minnesota Vikings assistant keeping his quarterback options open.

Following the news of the New England Patriots signing Cam Newton on Sunday, reports began to trickle in regarding some of the other teams who had expressed interest in adding the veteran quarterback.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday, Stefanski and the Browns were one of these teams who had discussions with Newton this offseason. Schefter went on to say that Cleveland never made a formal offer to the former Carolina Panthers quarterback and that their talks with him were, “very brief.”

This is probably a case of a team just doing their due diligence and seeing what sort of role Newton was interested in having in 2020. If he was willing to be a backup, Stefanski and the Browns might have made more of an attempt to add him to their roster.

Currently, Cleveland has former Minnesota quarterback Case Keenum as their No. 2 guy behind Mayfield. Keenum has shown the ability to make plays in the past, but it’s not a hard argument to make that Newton would have been a much better backup for the Browns if he was willing to no longer be a starter.

So Cleveland having a little interest in the new Patriots quarterback isn’t something that should give off the impression that the new regime is already looking to move on from Mayfield. Stefanski has already raved about his current starting quarterback since getting the Browns head coaching job and he’s going to do everything he can to get the most out of his young signal-caller during the upcoming season.

If Mayfield does have another disappointing campaign in 2020 though, don’t be surprised if the former Vikings offensive coordinator attempts to find a different quarterback in 2021 to help turn things around in Cleveland.