Bucs QB Baker Mayfield dealing with right shoulder, knee injuries ahead of high-stakes showdown vs. Panthers
- - Bucs QB Baker Mayfield dealing with right shoulder, knee injuries ahead of high-stakes showdown vs. Panthers
Jason OwensDecember 31, 2025 at 8:46 AM
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Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield was listed with a new injury to his right shoulder on Tuesday's practice report, just days before Tampa Bay's showdown with the Carolina Panthers that could determine the NFC South champion.
The Buccaneers also listed Mayfield with an undisclosed knee injury. Mayfield suffered an injury to his left shoulder in a Week 12 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He left that game early, but has played in each game since and hasn't been listed with the injury in recent weeks.
The listed injuries to his throwing shoulder and knee on Tuesday were new. Mayfield was listed as a limited participant on an estimated practice report as the Buccaneers conducted a walk-through.
Further details including the nature of the injuries or when Mayfield sustained them were not clear. The Bucs didn't initially provide more information about the injuries other than listing him as limited at practice.
Baker Mayfield is hobbled ahead of Saturday's high-stakes Panthers-Bucs game. ()How will injury impact Saturday's Panthers-Bucs game?
There's no indication the injuries threaten Mayfield's status for Saturday's game against the Panthers. But they're cause for further concern around a Bucs team that's floundered in the second half of the season and enters Week 18 having lost seven of its last eight games to surrender control of the NFC South.
Mayfield's play has suffered alongside that of his team. Mayfield posted four games with a quarterback rating higher than 100 as the Bucs got off to a 6-3 start. He's not eclipsed that number since Week 10 and has four games in that time frame with a rating below 80.
Now he's dealing with new injuries ahead of Tampa Bay's biggest game of the season. The Panthers would clinch the NFC South and the division's only playoff berth with a win by securing the best record at 9-8.
The Bucs would stay alive for the division title with a win, but also need the New Orleans Saints to beat the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. If the Bucs and Falcons win this week, the Panthers would own the three-way tiebreaker with Carolina, Atlanta and Tampa Bay all finishing at 8-9.
Source: “AOL Sports”
