Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield was limited in practice on Thursday as he recovers from a rib injury he suffered last weekend, via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.
The Buccaneers only held a walkthrough on Wednesday, but head coach Todd Bowles said he would not have practiced that day if they did hold a full practice session, so the fact that Mayfield was back on the field Thursday—even if it was in a limited capacity—seems to be a good sign moving forward.
Mayfield suffered the rib injury after taking a hard hit from New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu while attempting a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter of Tampa Bay’s loss to the Saints this past Sunday. He said after the game that X-rays came back negative but that he was sore.
Earlier in the week, Bowles said that Mayfield would be fine to play in the Bucs’ season finale against the Carolina Panthers, but the fact that Mayfield wouldn’t have been able to practice on Wednesday gave people some pause on the signal-caller’s status.
Mayfield said on Wednesday that he would “do everything” to make sure he is under center in Week 18. He went 22-for-33 with 309 yards, a couple of touchdowns and a pair of interceptions versus New Orleans.
On the season overall, Mayfield has thrown for 3,907 yards, 28 touchdowns and 10 picks while completing 64.4 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 95.9.
It has been one heck of a resurgent campaign for the 28-year-old, whose career seemed to be on life support after he split the 2022 campaign between the Panthers and Los Angeles Rams, totaling 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers could have clinched the NFC South division title with a win over the Saints, but they put forth a listless effort in a 23-13 loss. The good news is that they will get a mulligan this weekend. All they need to do is beat Carolina, and they will capture the division crown.
Tampa Bay is 8-8 and is aiming to make its fourth straight playoff appearance.
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