Bucs nation took a collective gasp as quarterback Baker Mayfield fell to his knees after a Hail Mary attempt at the end of the second quarter of a loss to the Rams.
They had already seen him enter the blue tent earlier in the game, only to return and try to will his team to a comeback. But this time it looked different. He looked defeated. Mayfield would return in the second half, but not to the game. His return was limited to the sideline as his left arm hung in a sling.
A product of the AC Joint sprain he suffered.
However, the injury was a best case scenario for the Bucs and nothing like compared to his injury with the Browns. So good in fact after skipping Wednesday's walkthrough Mayfield ramped up from limited on Thursday to a full participation on Friday, setting him up to possibly play on Sunday against the Cardinals.
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles confirmed that the team had seen enough of Mayfield in practice through the week that he could start.
"We have,” Bowles said. “He looked good today, so he's trending to play."
The Bucs game status report confirmed as much with Mayfield listed as questionable for Sunday with his shoulder injury after full participation during Friday’s practice. Earlier in the week Bowles was asked how he evaluated players such as Mayfield who say they're ready to play in addition to leaning on the Bucs medical staff.
“You always lean on the medical staff, but you also have to listen to the player too,” Bowles said. “Obviously, a lot of guys play hurt, and if it’s something he can manage and something he feels comfortable playing with, he’s not going to put himself in danger and neither are we. So, if he feels comfortable with it and he feels like he can go, we’ll see if he can go.”
Two days later Bowles had seen enough at Friday’s practice to feel optimism that Mayfield could go.
"He had to get well. He was very limited on Wednesday, he did a little more yesterday(Thursday) [and] he moved around perfectly today. He moved around, so he was fine."
According to a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, that is indeed the plan. Mayfield is set to start against the Cardinals, with an extra precaution on protecting his shoulder. If Mayfield plays well and the Bucs win, the move will look fine, but should they lose or worse, Mayfield gets injured, further serious questions will need to be asked if the team rushed him back too soon.