When it rains, it pours, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going through the ringer right now. Not only did the Bucs drop to 0-3 to start the 2026 NFL season, but they also watched Baker Mayfield leave the game injured against the Minnesota Vikings, casting further doubt over their rough year.
“Baker Mayfield dislocated his right thumb, per coach Todd Bowles,” as reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. “MRI tomorrow. But likely to miss time.”
With Mayfield unable to finish the game against Minnesota for Tampa Bay, it was undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels who filled in under center for the Buccaneers. Because the Bucs have a two-man active quarterback room, that’s as far as their depth chart currently goes at the most important position in football.
- Baker Mayfield
- Jalon Daniels
Jalon Daniels #10 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
A very avoidable injury
Of course, there’s no way of knowing when an injury will occur in the NFL. Still, Tampa Bay ran too many unnecessary risks on a single play, and it all came back to bite the Bucs in the worst way. Down four points with almost two minutes left in the fourth quarter and all three timeouts, the Bucs had no need to go for it on fourth down on the play that ended with Mayfield injured on the field.
Once the ball was snapped, Mayfield did his best, typical Maverick-style play-extending, keep-the-play-alive efforts, but it was all in vain. As much as he tried to make something out of nothing, it all backfired tremendously.
Mayfield was hit as he threw by Blake Cashman, with the quarterback’s right thumb clashing against the six-foot-one, 235-pound linebacker. As soon as the thumb hit Cashman, Mayfield knew something was wrong. He felt it, and his thumb was no longer pointing in the right direction.
Tampa Bay needs QB help
Now, Mayfield could miss time when his team needs him the most. If he is indeed sidelined, the Buccaneers will be knee-deep in trouble. As things stand, they don’t have another quarterback option other than UDFA rookie Daniels out of Kansas and practice-squad quarterback Easton Stick. If Mayfield is in for a long recovery timeline, expect the Buccaneers to go after a signal-caller available in free agency.
Key takeaways
- Baker Mayfield dislocated his right thumb and will undergo an MRI on Monday.
- Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels came on in relief as the active backup quarterback.
- Tampa Bay fell to 0-3 to start the 2026 season following Mayfield’s injury.
