Baker Mayfield’s thumb injury has turned Tampa Bay’s Week 4 matchup with Green Bay into a very different kind of test.
The Buccaneers will be without their quarterback for the next three weeks after head coach Todd Bowles said the injury will keep him sidelined, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. That puts Mayfield out for Sunday’s game at Raymond James Stadium against the 1-2 Packers, and it leaves Tampa Bay scrambling after a brutal 0-3 start.
Mayfield’s night against Minnesota ended in painful fashion. On what might have been the Buccaneers’ final snap, he took off running before being dragged down and immediately clutched his thumb while screaming in pain. The thumb had apparently been bothering him earlier in the game as well.
The loss to the Vikings was ugly in more ways than one. Tampa Bay fell 23-16, while Minnesota moved to 3-0 and continued to look like one of the league’s best defenses. Mayfield was sacked six times, another punishing reminder of how badly the Bucs’ offensive line has struggled.
Now that same line has to protect an undrafted rookie.
Jalon Daniels entered late and finished 0-for-3, forced to air it out in the closing seconds with Tampa Bay trailing by seven. He also ran once for nine yards, initially believing he had converted a first down before replay assist overturned the call. Daniels got his first NFL action only in the final minute of a game that already felt out of reach.
Still, Daniels brings far more mobility than Mayfield, and that’s where the Packers’ defense comes into focus. New defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon has been aggressive this season, and that approach will need to show up again on Sunday, Oct. 4, if Green Bay wants to take advantage of Tampa Bay’s shaky protection.
Daniels’ college résumé is a big one, too. The 23-year-old balled out at Kansas last season and spent all six years with the Jayhawks from 2020-25. He finished his college career with 9,282 passing yards, 67 touchdowns and 31 interceptions.
Mayfield hasn’t been at his sharpest this season, but the pressure around him has been impossible to ignore. Tampa Bay’s offensive line has been a problem, and the same kind of issues are showing up in Green Bay with Jordan Love.
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