Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is currently dealing with rib and ankle injuries. Will he be playing in the NFC Wild Card Round matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night?
Baker Mayfield Injury Update
Mayfield sustained the injury to his ribs in a Week 17 loss to the New Orleans Saints. He then suffered an ankle ailment in the Week 18 win over the Carolina Panthers.
Mayfield, whose contract expires in March, has thrown for 4,044 yards with 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions for a 94.6 passer rating this season.
Despite being listed as questionable, Mayfield is expected to play on Monday night, according to Fox Sports’ Greg Auman.
Mayfield missed practice on Thursday and was listed as a limited participant on Friday and Saturday by Tampa Bay. He joined linebacker K.J. Britt and safety Josh Hayes as the only Buccaneers listed as questionable for Monday’s game.
This isn’t the first time he’s been listed as dealing with a rib injury. In Week 18, he missed practice on Wednesday and was limited on Thursday before a Sunday game against Carolina.
If Mayfield is unable to play, Tampa Bay would turn to either Kyle Trask or John Wolford. Since being selected in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Trask has appeared in only three games, one in 2022 and two in 2023. He attempted nine passes, completing three, in 2022 for 23 yards. He attempted one pass with no completions in 2023.
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Wolford is listed as the third-string QB and has started four career games, including three for the Rams in 2022, and has appeared in seven games total. Wolford has completed 61 of 104 passes in his career for 626 yards with a touchdown and five interceptions.
The 9-8 Buccaneers have won five of their last six en route to a playoff berth, and while he’s struggled in the past two weeks while playing through his recent injuries (two touchdowns and two interceptions), Mayfield has an 11:3 touchdown-to-interception ratio overall during that stretch.
If Mayfield can play, it will be his first postseason start since the 2020 season when he helped defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers as the Cleveland Browns quarterback. His only other playoff appearance came in the AFC Divisional Round after the win over the Steelers. The Browns lost that game to the Kansas City Chiefs.
In the playoffs, Mayfield has 467 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception, with a passer rating of 94.0.
Philadelphia has lost five of its last six games, and quarterback Jalen Hurts will be playing through a finger injury on his throwing hand.
Fourth-seeded Tampa Bay and No. 5 seed Philadelphia kick off with a trip to the NFC Divisional Round on the line on Monday at 8:15 p.m. ET.
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