Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, who dislocated his right thumb in a Week Three game against Minnesota, practice on Wednesday for the first time since that injury. The Buccaneers will soon make a decision on whether Mayfield returns to game action this weekend at Carolina or rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels makes his fourth consecutive start.
It was a promising start to the week for the veteran passer, who had started 57 consecutive games since joining the Buccaneers before his Week Three mishap.
"I think he's coming along fine," said Head Coach Todd Bowles. "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."
Mayfield was seen wearing a white glove on his throwing hand, presumably with some kind of added support for the injured joint, during the portion of practice open to the media. Head Coach Todd Bowles said he kept the glove on throughout the practice and was pleased with how it felt.
"He said it felt good," said Bowles. "He's done it one time before, so he said it felt okay."
Mayfield kept his starts streak alive last season despite incurring a litany of injuries, including one to his throwing shoulder. The Buccaneers' offense sagged during the second half of that season after a hot start amid myriad injuries to the offensive line and the receiving corps, and it's possible Mayfield's accumulated maladies contributed to the level of his own performance. Bowles said the current situation is more cut-and-dried and it should be relatively simple to know if this injury will affect Mayfield's effectiveness.
"I think it's a different injury," said Bowles. "This one's a thumb. You can kind of gauge it off how he throws and how he feels and how he takes snaps under center and how he feels afterwards. I think that's kind of a different deal than a shoulder and the bruises and all those things he's kind of added up to. This one, you can see flat out and you can kind of know whether you want to play him or not."
Bowles hopes to have enough information to make a decision on his starter by Friday after two more practice. While Mayfield was effective throwing the ball on Wednesday, the way his hand responds to that work on Thursday will be a key factor in his potential return. Bowles said it's critical to have clarity on the situation as soon as possible.
"It's extremely important," he said. "You've got to have the quarterback get the mental reps and play, and everybody's got to understand who's under center and what kind of game plan we have."
