Worst-Case Scenario for Bucs’ Mayfield Revealed

We now know the best and worse case scenario for Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ QB Baker Mayfield to come back.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Mayfield could be back in three weeks and could be out for as long as six after dislocating his thumb in last weekend’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Schefter reported that Mayfield’s return hinges on how long it will take him to properly grip a football.

Although coach Todd Bowles said last week that Mayfield’s injury wouldn’t require surgery, he did need stitches to close up the wound, and those stitches are expected to be removed shortly.

A positive sign is that, per Schefter, the Buccaneers do not expect to put Mayfield on injured reserve.

At 0-3, the Bucs are already backed into a corner, even though the rest of the NFC South isn’t doing much better. It’s quite a spot for any backup QB to be in, let alone one who has never started an NFL game and became an undrafted free agent less than six months ago. That’s the situation young Jalon Daniels finds himself in.

The former Kansas Jayhawk beat out veteran Jake Browning for the backup job during training camp, and now, the Bucs are counting on him to keep their season from spiraling out of control. Daniels came on in relief of Mayfield Sunday and threw three passes, completing one to the other team and none to his.

The Bucs are facing a Green Bay Packers team that’s dealing with its own issues.

The Pack are 1-2 and didn’t look particularly good in either loss, falling to the Vikings by 17 points and the Atlanta Falcons by 21, the latter of which coming at home on Thursday night football. Green Bay’s lone win of the season so far came two weeks ago, and could have easily been a loss. But the Packers  eked out a 20-17 overtime win over the New York Jets on the road in what some may have dubbed the “Aaron Rodgers Bowl.”

The Bucs don’t need Daniels to be Rodgers, but they need a spark.

This was a pivotal year for Bowles coming in, after last season ended with seven losses in nine games when one more win would have won the NFC South.

So far, 2026 is beginning the way 2025 ended, and it’s conceivable that the Bucs could be out of it by the time Mayfield gets back.