Sunday was rough for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They lost to the Los Angeles Rams 34-7, and to make matters worse, it was a Sunday Night Football game, which means Tampa Bay was embarrassed in front of the entire football world. Still, that wasn’t even the worst part of the night for the Bucs. That moment belongs to Baker Mayfield leaving the game with an injury.
In the first half, the veteran quarterback took a trip to the injury tent with a left shoulder injury, but returned to the game. Unfortunately, his return was short lived, as he crumbled to the ground in pain after a deep pass on the final play of the first half. Mayfield didn’t return after halftime, and was instead captured on the sideline with his non-throwing arm in a sling. Head coach Todd Bowles has since revealed that the quarterback has a sprained left shoulder.
Baker Mayfield was seen wearing a sling after injuring his left shoulder in the first half against the Rams pic.twitter.com/NioS1NbbQT
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 24, 2025
Buccaneers announce Baker Mayfield has sprained left shoulder
The veteran quarterback was 9-of-19 for 41 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions before leaving the game, and things were unfortunately already out of hand, as the Rams led 31-7 at the half. However, the 6-5 Buccaneers are far more concerned about the health of their quarterback than they are the Week 12 loss.
Bowles said Mayfield will undergo an MRI on Monday morning, and that will determine the full extent of the injury. Obviously, Tampa Bay would love if the veteran quarterback didn’t have to miss any time, but the team will have to wait for the results of the MRI to see if it’ll be without its QB for an extended period of time. Mayfield, historically, is a tough quarterback. Throughout his career, he has played through several injuries, and fought through pain to be on the field for his team. If he can, he’ll likely do the same this time around as well.
If Mayfield is sidelined, the Buccaneers will lean on veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater completed eight of 15 passes for 62 yards in the second half for Tampa Bay, but the game was already out of hand. He has the NFL experience to help the Bucs get through a few games, but hopefully, Tampa won’t need Bridgewater to start many games.