Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield missed three games with a dislocated thumb injury he suffered in Week 3 against the Minnesota Vikings.
He finally made his return in Week 7, but despite playing two full games since returning from injury, he hasn’t had to put too much stress on his injured throwing hand.
That’s because Tampa Bay only attempted 11 passes in his first game back, and last week, they only attempted three passes. It’s actually ideal that a dominant running game has allowed the passing offense to take a backseat while Mayfield settles back in, but eventually, he could have to throw the football at a much higher rate to win games. His latest comments don’t exactly inspire confidence.
Baker Mayfield doesn’t expect his thumb to fully heal until the offseason
Mayfield spoke to reporters after practice on Wednesday and was asked how close to normal things are with his thumb.
“Yeah, I don't know if until the offseason it'll feel back to completely normal. But yeah, it just feels better and better each week, especially after, obviously, the last two weeks not having to use it that much, not a lot of contact. So yeah, just continuing to do what I need to throughout the week treatment-wise to continue to make it better to where I don't have any steps backwards. But yeah, it's feeling better and better.”
It’s certainly encouraging that Mayfield says he’s feeling better each week, but the red flag is his admission that he won’t be 100% until the offseason.
Mayfield is a tough player who is known to battle through injuries to be there for his team. But a thumb injury on his throwing hand is a particularly difficult challenge to overcome from a performance standpoint.
With all of the success in the run game, Mayfield hasn’t been put in a position where he must carry the offense. He hasn’t been tested just yet, having thrown only 14 passes in-game over the last two weeks. Prior to his injury, he was averaging 32 pass attempts per game.
When the situation inevitably calls for a more pass-heavy attack, how will his healing thumb impact his accuracy? What about the velocity he can put on passes into tight windows?
Hopefully, Mayfield remains relatively unaffected and is able to operate as normal from the quarterback spot. Most importantly, the Buccaneers need him to stay healthy and avoid re-injuring that thumb or suffering any setbacks. The longer this run game can continue to power this offense and take the load off Mayfield’s shoulders, the better.
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