Will Bucs Coaches Step In For Tough Choice On Baker Mayfield?

As if there wasn’t enough drama already with the Bucs needing to win in Week 18 over the Panthers to make the postseason, an injury concern over quarterback Baker Mayfield has taken center stage.

Mayfield was injured late in the Bucs’ 23-13 loss to the Bucs when he was hit by Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu on a two-point conversion attempt. The refs threw a flag on New Orleans for the hit, but there was also a penalty on Tampa Bay on the same play so they offset. Mayfield stayed in for the next play, which the Bucs did not convert, but was very injured and continues to be this week.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles was defiant on Monday that Mayfield was ready to go for the winner-take-all matchup on Sunday.

“His ribs are sore,” Bowles said. “He’ll be fine by Sunday. He’ll be ready to go on Sunday.”

However, Bowles had a different tune on Wednesday after confirming that Mayfield would not have practiced if it wasn’t a walkthrough. The notion went from “He’s playing” to essentially “He’ll try to play.” The way that Bowles was so emphatic on Monday made it odd how it went down two days later.

“I know he’s going to do everything he can to play,” Bowles said. “I’m not a doctor, I can’t feel what Baker is feeling, so I can’t tell you how he’s going to feel [or] if he’s able to play. If he can play, I know he’s going to try and play.”

That also led to more preparation for backup quarterback Kyle Trask and the possibility that he’ll play on Sunday.

“It’s always a concern when one of your star players [is] hurt,” Bowles said. “We’ll see how it goes. We have [all the] confidence in [Kyle] Trask if he has to play. Baker is going to try and play – if he’s not healthy, he can’t play. If he’s healthy enough to play, he will.”

So is he or isn’t he playing?

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield Answers Without Answering 

When Baker Mayfield got up to the podium he had a similar mantra to Bowles.

“Obviously, I didn’t exactly test it out today. Just more mental reps for everybody. I’m just going to see. Like I said, I haven’t tested it out, so I’ve just got to get loose. I’m sure by the time we get closer to game time, adrenaline will be rolling, especially with where we are sitting at right now, situationally.”

Always motivated by having a chip on his shoulder, Mayfield alluded to beating his former team in their city as a big reason he wants to play. He gave a good response, but it wasn’t a yes or no.

“I’ll do everything I can to be out there – that’s for sure,” Mayfield said. “Division on the line, playoff hopes on the line, going back to Carolina? Yeah, I’ll do everything I can.”

It sounds like Baker Mayfield is going to play, but should he? Mayfield’s toughness and willingness to play are commendable, but I wonder if his injury becomes a detriment to the Bucs in Sunday’s game. Playing through injury has derailed him before. In 2021 he kept going out each week with a torn labrum and only made it worse. It planted the idea in the Browns’ head that they wanted to pursue another quarterback and Mayfield was on the move.

That derailed Baker Mayfield’s career. If a similar situation happens in their next game, many people in the organization could be out of a job.

Would HC Todd Bowles And OC Dave Canales Stop Baker From Playing?

Baker Mayfield did practice on Wednesday and threw the ball around very lightly at the beginning.

Towards the end part of practice that is available to the media, Mayfield took his helmet off and fired some passes that certainly had more power behind them. Whether or not he’s feeling more pain can only be answered by him.

Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales did confirm that Mayfield participated in drills on Thursday for at least one session. He looked to be accurate and throwing it well.

“He had a third down period – took all of the reps in a nice third down period and he threw some accurate balls,” Canales said. “He looked pretty good. Again, I don’t want to give too much about the plan and the style of what we’re going to do, specifically, but as far as throwing, he looked functional today. He ripped a couple of balls down the field and looked okay.”

When asked if he’ll be involved in deciding whether Mayfield will play, he said that decision only comes down to one person.

“Honestly, that’s going to be a decision for Baker and if he feels like…I know for sure Baker gives us our best chance to win,” Canales said. “So if he feels like he’s ready to go, that’s a decision that he’ll be able to make.”

That’s what makes this part concerning. I’m not sure if Bowles and Canales would be willing to pull the plug on Baker Mayfield if he’s hurting the team and play Kyle Trask. It’s not a question of Mayfield’s toughness or effort, it’s just that an injury like this can severely limit his mobility in the game. He isn’t going to take himself out of the game, so someone will have to if it gets to that point.

Bowles is more than a player’s coach than he leads on. He kept the Bucs together through a tough losing streak and is always willing to be thrown under the bus instead of his player getting ridiculed. But that’s hurt Bowles at times, too. He’s been criticized for standing up for inside linebacker Devin White for too long when he should’ve been benched. Bowles has also taken too long to make other personnel adjustments such as starting outside linebacker YaYa Diaby. With this season on the line, he can’t afford to wait.

Canales is also a first-year play-caller who has an exuberant, upbeat personality. He shares a great relationship with Mayfield. Is he ready to have the difficult conversation with Mayfield if the Bucs go down two scores against the Panthers and he can’t make big throws?

Hopefully, he feels good enough that it doesn’t impact his mobility and the Bucs don’t have to go to Trask. But if Baker Mayfield can’t perform at a high level based on his limitations, I’m not sure if Bowles and Canales will be able to say “enough” and go with Trask. Mayfield won’t sit, so someone will have to force the issue if it appears because there’s a lot on the line for everyone.