All appearances indicate Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield will play against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. That wasn’t the case earlier this week when there was much uncertainty after he suffered an AC joint sprain that knocked him out of the second half of their loss to the Rams.
However, America’s quarterback gutted through the pain and returned to practice this week, looking good enough to get the all-clear from his head coach and the medical staff. Time will tell how much Mayfield will be affected by his injury. While it’s to his non-throwing arm, it could certainly lead to issues with torque and accuracy. Teddy Bridgewater would be the first name called should Mayfield prove to be ineffective against the Cardinals. Although the Bucs are making sure they have enough at the position to get through the game, should Mayfield not be able to finish the game.
The Buccaneers announced they have signed rookie quarterback Connor Bazelak to the active roster. The promotion for the rookie signal-caller is quite an indictment of how they feel about him. Choosing to keep him on the practice squad over Kyle Trask, the Bucs have been happy with his development. Bazelak was elevated for the Bucs Week 8 matchup against the Saints, but failed to play in the game.
The former Bowling Green quarterback signed with the Bucs as an undrafted free agent following the 2025 NFL Draft. He played in all three preseason games for the Buccaneers and completed 32-of-46 of his passes for 261 yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions for a 90.9 passer rating. He finished his collegiate career throwing for 12,344 yards and 66 touchdowns. He'll likely serve as the Bucs' inactive emergency third quarterback, unable to enter the game unless both quarterbacks above him are knocked out.
To make room for Bwzelak on the roster the Bucs have waived running back Owen Wright. Wright signed with the Bucs after Bucky Irving went down with injury, with his return and the Bucs needing an extra body at quarterback the move makes sense. The Bucs will likely re-sign him to the practice squad should he passes through waivers unclaimed. The Buccaneers also elevated safety Marcus Banks from the practice squad, marking his second straight elevation. He'll resume his role on specail teams where he played last week.