In January 2023, Patrick Mahomes limped off the field against the Jacksonville Jaguars with a high ankle sprain, as the Kansas City Chiefs’ season was suddenly hanging on his foot. He came back, finished the game, and weeks later won a Super Bowl. Every quarterback injury report since gets read through that lens. Now Baker Mayfield has an update ahead of Week 7 game against the Carolina Panthers, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans are hoping for a similar story to Mahomes.

“‘We’ve gotten to a place where it’s strong enough to play,’ Baker Mayfield says of his injured thumb and Sunday’s game at Carolina,” per Greg Auman of Fox Sports on X.

Baker Mayfield’s injury occurred during the fourth quarter of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Week 3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

During a fourth-and-13 conversion attempt in the 4th quarter, Mayfield scrambled to keep the play alive and threw an interception. But as the Buccaneers QB threw, his right hand collided hard with Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman, causing a quick hyperextension that dislocated his thumb.

Mayfield collapsed on the turf in visible pain before exiting to the locker room.

Initial X-rays and a subsequent MRI confirmed that there were no fractures, ligament tears, or tendon damage. While the lack of structural damage was the best-case scenario, an orthopedic thumb dislocation severely impacts a quarterback’s ability to grip and control the football.

Subsequently, head coach Todd Bowles ruled Baker Mayfield out for three weeks (Weeks 4, 5, and 6). During his absence, the Buccaneers started undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels, who led the team to their first win of the season in Week 5 against the Dallas Cowboys.

However, on Wednesday, October 21, Mayfield made a return to the facility, logging a full session at practice. He was spotted throwing the ball well and taking snaps under center while wearing a protective glove on his right hand.

In the meantime, the Buccaneers HC revealed that the team will monitor how Mayfield’s thumb handles the workload and responds to consecutive days of throwing.

“I think he’s coming along fine,” Bowles said. “Once he got warmed up, he started looking pretty good as practice went on. We’ll continue to monitor him and see how he goes through the week. It was encouraging to see him do the things we wanted him to do.”

Although Baker Mayfield confirmed he is strong enough to play against the Carolina Panthers in Week 7, it will be interesting to see if Todd Bowles will be ready to risk his star quarterback.

But that doesn’t overlook the fact that Tampa Bay’s offense struggled. So far, pass protection has been an issue, forcing the quarterbacks into mistakes or throwing under duress. The Buccaneers have allowed 22 sacks through six games, including a 6-sack game against Minnesota and 5 sacks against Pittsburgh.

While the burden of leading the franchise’s offense often lands on the quarterback, the linemen are also equally responsible for the team’s performance. And in Mayfield’s absence, despite a win, the offense still showed struggles.

What does Baker Mayfield return mean for the Buccaneers?

Compared to rookie Jalon Daniels, Baker Mayfield offers a much higher offensive ceiling and veteran stability, with 29,140 passing yards under his name in 126 regular-season games.

Although the Buccaneers have gotten off to a disastrous 1-5 start to the 2026 season, since they play in a wide-open NFC South divisional race where they have yet to play a single divisional match, Mayfield’s return will mark the beginning of a crucial divisional stretch that could entirely pivot their season.

So far, the Carolina Panthers (3-2 record) stand as the only team with more wins than losses compared to the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints in the same division.

Considering this, the Buccaneers still have a realistic chance to qualify for the playoffs, but they are treading on historically thin ice. Currently, analytics models like ESPN’s Football Power Index place the Buccaneers’ playoff probability at 18.3%.

In the 2018 season, the Indianapolis Colts made a comeback from a 1-5 start to make it to the playoffs by finishing the regular season with a 10-6 record.

Now, with Baker Mayfield fit, it will be interesting to see what the Buccaneers’ 2026 season looks like moving forward.