Will Baker Mayfield Play On Sunday Or Not?

So that means Bridgewater is starting and Mayfield will be out, right? Well, not so fast. It was Mayfield who we spoke with today during Wednesday’s press conference. Typically each week, media will speak with Tampa Bay’s starting quarterback, so if Mayfield was ruled out, it would’ve been Bridgewater up in front of the microphone.

Todd Bowles Reveals Practice Plans For QBs

But first, we heard from head coach Todd Bowles, who gave us the information on what’s going on at practice.

“You got to get Teddy ready to play,” Bowles said. “Obviously Baker’s sore, so Teddy’s going to take most of the reps this week and we’ll see how he feels at the end of the week. He studies a lot so if he feels good he can go, if not Teddy’s going to take it.”

It sounds like it’ll be touch and go all week.

Another battle is just convincing Mayfield that it’s better for him to sit out a week if that’s the case. Mayfield always wants to play, but in the past, his injuries have been too much overcome and it’s hurt the whole team. Bowles discussed balancing what the medical team is saying versus how the player is feeling.

“You always lean on the medical staff but you also got to listen to the player, too,” Bowles said. “Obviously a lot of guys play hurt, but it’s something he can manage and something he feels comfortable playing with, he’s not going to put himself in danger and neither are we. So if he feels comfortable with it and he feels like he can go, we’ll see if he can go.

Baker Mayfield Talks What He’s Dealing With

Next up was Baker Mayfield, where we learned all about what’s bothering him, how it happened, and where his head’s at going into a big game.

First Mayfield talked about the pain. But luckily, there’s less of it.

“It’s there. Decreasing for sure,” Mayfield said. “It’s pain tolerance and management at that point. We’ll see how it goes through the week and go from there. But understanding that we have Teddy and I’ve been in this spot before with the non throwing shoulder. If it’s going to hinder how I play, then I probably won’t go. Won’t know till later in the week getting practice reps and we’ll see how it goes.”

We all saw Mayfield grab his left shoulder on his touchdown pass to Tez Johnson and then his attempt at a Hail Mary. He told us that it actually happened before that.

“It came on one of the scramble runs up the middle,” Mayfield said. “Kind of got hit on the right side, exposed the left shoulder and got hit a little late. One of those just the right angle for it to happen. Go from there.”

There are parallels that can be drawn to Mayfield’s 2021 season with the Browns where he tried to play through a torn rotator cuff in his left arm. His play suffered because of it and he was traded after the year. While that cocnclusion could be drawn too, it’s not the same situation.

“It’s very different,” Mayfield said. “I dislocated my shoulder completely, I had a torn labrum, partial rotator cuff and cracked the bone in the socket, so it’s very, very different. Now it’s just truly about pain tolerance, management, being able to move around and being able to throw and go from there.”

How much he’ll factor in that previous experience into playing this Sunday varies as well.

“A little bit just from the physical aspect of it,” he said. “I don’t think I was physically able to do the things I wanted to in 2021 with the hurt shoulder. That’s the biggest thing is (I) don’t want to hold this team back. Obviously each game hear on out is extremely important. Teddy is more than capable of handling this on his own. So it’s managing that, understanding where I’m at physically and go from there.”

“It felt like my shoulder was unstable, which MRIs and all that revealed that it is stable, everything’s intact. That’s good, that’s really good news. So it’s really about feeling good enough to be able to rip the ball, and feeling confident to finish through throws and stay on top of the ball.”

The Bucs have lost four of five games and three in a row. So the urgency to play for Mayfield is even higher.

“Where we’re at right now, we’re viewing the rest of the games as must-win situations,” Mayfield said.

But understanding that he’s needed for the haul is a sign of his maturity as a player and trust in his teammates.

“I mentioned earlier not to go back on what I was saying about every game in my eyes is a must win, playoff scenario, but understanding that if I sit one game out, that provides me to be healthier for down the stretch, then that’s how I’m going to look at it,” Mayfield said.

“I have to be smart with that understanding that our sights are still set on the playoffs but to get there we have to win these games, especially the NFC matchups. Got to look at it that way, it’s kind of a double edged sword, but we’ll see how it goes. “