Bucs QB Baker Mayfield To Miss 3rd Straight Game

Undrafted rookie backup Jalon Daniels will instead make his third straight start coming off a surprising 24-16 win over the Cowboys last Thursday night. The former Kansas signal-caller completed 19 of his 25 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown while adding 23 yards on the ground. Crucially, he took only one sack and did not turn the ball over, allowing running back Bucky Irving to put forth career-highs of 165 rushing yards and 7.9 yards per carry.

Mayfield was initially hoping to keep his absence to two or games or fewer and was pushing to return this week, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. He has a history of playing through injuries, but doing so with a limitation to his throwing hand never seemed likely. In fact, since the nine-year veteran has not practiced at all since going down, he could be at risk of missing a fourth game in Week 7.

Daniels, 23, beat out former Bengals backup Jake Browning for the same job in Tampa Bay during training camp. He started the preseason finale, and Browning was released shortly after. The Buccaneers lost their first three games of the regular season with Mayfield under center as well as Daniels’ first start, putting the team in an unusual spot: last place in the NFC South. Last week’s win over the Cowboys brought clear relief to under-fire head coach Todd Bowles, who will rely on his UDFA passer for at least one more week.

Mayfield, meanwhile, will be aiming to return to practice next week. His ability to comfortably grip, throw, and hand off the football will be vital to his chances of starting in Week 7.