NFL Injury · Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Is Baker Mayfield playing today?

By IsHePlayingToday Staff · Updated Oct 24, 2026

The injury report says questionable. The head coach says he's going. Baker Mayfield missed the last three games with a dislocated right thumb, practiced in full all week, and Todd Bowles said on Friday that his quarterback looks ready to start on Sunday at Carolina. The questionable tag stays on paper until the inactive list comes out, but everybody in Tampa Bay is planning on No. 6 being under center.

Here is what Bowles actually said, how the thumb held up through a full week of practice, the special glove Mayfield will wear, and the one time on Sunday morning that makes it official.

What Bowles said on Friday

The Buccaneers put out their final injury report on Friday, and Mayfield's name carried the questionable tag. That part is real, and we are not going to dress it up: on paper, he is not a lock. But Bowles was asked about it straight after practice, and his answer was about as clear as a coach gets on a Friday. He said Mayfield "looks like he's ready to go," and the team expects him to start at Carolina.

The practice week backs that up. Mayfield was a full participant on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday — not limited, not held out, full. That is his first full week of practice since the injury. A quarterback with a bad throwing hand does not take every snap for three straight days unless the hand is holding up.

There is one small tell that Tampa Bay is still being careful. Bowles said the team would talk about dressing a third quarterback on Sunday as a precaution. That is normal when a starter is coming back with a tag next to his name, but it is also why the final word still waits for Sunday morning. If Mayfield wakes up and the thumb feels wrong, the plan can change. Nobody expects it to.

How he got hurt, and the three games he missed

Mayfield dislocated the thumb in the fourth quarter of the Week 3 loss to Minnesota on September 27. His throwing hand hit Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman as he let go of a desperate fourth-down pass that ended up intercepted. The Bucs lost 23-16, and Mayfield has not played since.

This is new ground for him. Mayfield told reporters on Thursday that he has never really missed time because of injuries in his career, and that sitting out has not been fun. He threw for 615 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in his three games this season, and he had not missed a start since joining Tampa Bay in 2023.

He actually wanted back in last week. Mayfield said he was aiming to return against Pittsburgh, but the thumb was not ready. The Bucs went on to blow a 16-3 lead and lose that one 26-19 in overtime, which tells you how much this team has missed him.

Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels started the three games in his place and went 1-2, with the one win coming in Week 5. Daniels did some good things for a rookie thrown into the job, but he completed just 22 of 43 passes for 164 yards with two interceptions against the Steelers. The drop-off from a veteran starter to an undrafted rookie is exactly what it sounds like, and it is the biggest reason Tampa Bay sits at 1-5, last in the NFC South.

The glove he will wear

Mayfield is not coming back bare-handed. He has practiced all week in a special glove on his right hand and plans to wear it in the game. It has a solid plate built in along the back of the thumb that keeps the thumb from bending backward — the exact motion that caused the dislocation. The Bucs' training staff put it together with help from the Tampa Bay Rays' staff.

Mayfield said the plate does not change his throwing motion, and gripping and throwing the ball have felt fine. His real worry was never the throw itself. It was the snap — taking the impact of the ball from center Graham Barton, snap after snap. He tested that in practice this week and said it felt great. If the thumb survives the first few exchanges under center on Sunday, it should not be a story after that.

Who he won't have with him

Getting the quarterback back is the good news. The rest of Friday's report was not. Tampa Bay ruled out three starters for Sunday: wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (concussion and foot), right tackle Luke Goedeke (calf) and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (rib).

Goedeke is the one that matters most for Mayfield. He is the starting right tackle, and he will be watching while a backup protects the edge in front of a quarterback with a braced thumb. Chris Godwin is clear to play after a rest day this week, so the receiving group is not empty — but Mayfield's return comes with a thinner offense around him than the one he left.

Carolina noticed all of this, by the way. Panthers coach Dave Canales, who was Mayfield's offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay in 2023, said Friday he had figured all week that Mayfield would play, pointing to the toughness he saw from him up close. The Panthers are 3-2 and leading the division, so this is not a soft landing spot for a quarterback coming off three weeks out.

How to watch, and when it's official

Kickoff is Sunday at 1:00 PM ET at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, on FOX. Kevin Kugler has the play-by-play with Daryl Johnston in the booth and Allison Williams on the sideline. If you are streaming, NFL+ carries it for in-market mobile viewers, and NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV has it out of market.

The final word lands at 11:30 AM ET on Sunday, when both teams post their inactive lists 90 minutes before kickoff. That is the moment Mayfield's name either stays off the list — meaning he is active and starting — or the whole plan changes. Everything Bowles said on Friday points to the first one.

What it means for your fantasy lineup

If you held Mayfield through the injury, you can put him back in — but know what you are starting. He is on the road against a division leader, missing his best young receiver and his right tackle, with a plate in his glove and three weeks of rust. That is a streaming-level start, not a set-and-forget one. In two-quarterback leagues he is a clear start, because the Bucs throw it and the game script could force volume.

If you picked up Jalon Daniels to get through the last three weeks, his run is over. He goes back to the bench, and in standard leagues he can go back to the wire. The Bucs receivers who are actually playing — Godwin first of all — get a real bump just from having the starter back, even if the ceiling is lower without Egbuka on the field.

The verdict

Plan on Baker Mayfield starting on Sunday. The questionable tag is the team following the rules with a player who missed three games — the coach has said he is ready, the full week of practice says the same, and the other sideline is preparing for him. Just do the one smart thing: check the inactive list at 11:30 AM ET before you lock in a fantasy lineup or make plans around the game. If his name is not on it, and it should not be, he is your starter in Charlotte.