Bucs fans can officially exhale as an MRI has confirmed that Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield has avoided a major injury following his team’s recent loss.
Mayfield appears to have suffered a “low-grade AC join sprain in his left shoulder with no additional damage” and will be considered week to week. The 30 year old was in visible discomfort on Sunday against the LA Rams, but attempted to play through the pain.
Eventually he was replaced by back up Teddy Bridgewater in the team’s 34-7 defeat. It’s unclear whether Mayfield will be able to suit up ahead of his team’s upcoming game against Arizona, or whether it will once again be Bridgewater under centre.
“It’s a big loss because of the way he’s been playing and carrying us the past few weeks – and even last year,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said on Monday. “At the same time, we all have confidence in Teddy. We know what he can do, and we know what kind of confidence level he brings, too. It’s a different kind of energy, but yet energy that we all feed off of and expect.”
Through 11 games this season, Mayfield has passed for 2,406 yards and 18 TDs against only 5 interceptions. As a result, the Buccaneers sit atop the NFC South standings with a 6-5 record, but are now losers of their last 3 contests.
With Carolina breathing down their neck at 6-6, Tampa unfortunately doesn’t have the luxury of being able to rest their team MVP down the stretch. But when he resumes taking first team reps is anyone’s guess at the moment.
The injury is in Mayfield’s non-throwing shoulder which is a plus. That, coupled with the fact that the former 1st overall pick from the 2018 NFL Draft has a propensity to play through injuries could mean that he’s back on the field sooner rather than later.
A typical Grade 1 AC joint sprain takes 1-2 weeks to heal, with a Grade 2 sprain coming in around 3-6 weeks. Because the team didn’t classify the severity of the injury, it’s hard to put a definitive timeline on his road to recovery at this point. The good news however is that he’s avoided a Grade 3 sprain and surgery at this point.
Tampa Bay is entering a pivotal stretch of their schedule, with a winnable game against Arizona coming up, followed by a divisional stretch against New Orleans, Atlanta, and Carolina respectively. In a perfect world, resting Mayfield for at least this weekend against the lowly Cardinals would be ideal, but Tampa also can’t afford to give away any games down the stretch.
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.