It seems the Tampa Bay Buccaneers escaped a potential nightmare scenario with Baker Mayfield, but they're not out of the woods yet.
Baker suffered an AC joint sprain in Sunday's disastrous loss to the Rams, twice needing to leave the game before ultimately ending up on the sideline in a sling. The image of him walking off the field, hobbled and in street clothes, was the absolute last thing anyone wanted to see.
Despite how bad the injury seemed in the moment, Adam Schefter reported that the injury was believed to be mild, and MRI results later in the day confirmed it as a low-grade sprain. It's mild enough that Baker playing in on Sunday against the Cardinals isn't out of the question.
Whether that's a good idea or not is the next question, and the answer seems pretty obvious.
Buccaneers playing Baker Mayfield in Week 13 should be a fireable offense
Losing Baker for any period of time isn't ideal, but not having him when the team needs him the most would be even worse. No shade to the Cardinals, but they come to Tampa Bay next Sunday without a starting quarterback and two starting running backs.
That's not a team the Bucs need to test the limits of medical science to win.
Teddy Bridgewater filled in for Baker after he was ruled out and would be more than adequate at filling in for him on Sunday, or beyond. Tampa Bay's schedule loosens up considerably the rest of the way, with the only team with a winning record being the Carolina Panthers -- for now.
Week | Opponent | Record |
|---|---|---|
13 | vs. Cardinals | 3-8 |
14 | vs. Saints | 2-9 |
15 | vs. Falcons | 4-7 |
16 | at Panthers | 6-5 |
17 | at Dolphins | 4-7 |
18 | vs. Panthers | 6-5 |
That's hardly a Murder's Row of teams the Bucs need to march through in order to reach the playoffs and another NFC South title. The tough part is how slim the margin seems to be between Tampa Bay and teams like Miami and Atlanta.
On paper, and based on what we've seen out of the Bucs this season, they should beat those teams. It's not even a bounce-back thing, the Bucs are 4-0 against teams with six or fewer wins so far this season which bodes well for what the rest of the schedule looks like.
Additionally, the Bucs have two games against the Panthers to essentially put the division away. There's a clear path to getting back on track but not having Baker in the mix is a recipie for failure.
Even if the Bucs make the playoffs while Bridgewater goes on a heater, beating teams like the Rams, Seahawks, or Eagles is a tall task. Tampa Bay needs Baker in those games to have a fighting chance, and that starts with not forcing him to play in games he doesn't need to.
If the Bucs, as banged up as they are, can't muster up enough to beat teams like the Cardinals and Saints then they don't belong in the playoffs. So much we've seen from them this season suggests they do, though, but that only feels right if Baker is healthy enough to help them when it matters most.