Bucs head coach Todd Bowles revealed that quarterback Baker Mayfield suffered a dislocated right thumb when getting pressured on a fourth down throw with under two minutes left in regulation in Tampa Bay’s 23-16 loss to Minnesota.

Mayfield’s right thumb – his throwing hand – hit the arm of Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman on the play and the quarterback immediately went down and was in immense pain.

“He [has] a dislocated thumb,” Bowles said. “He is going to get an MRI tomorrow just to see exactly what inside is wrong with it, so we’ll know more tomorrow.”

Bowles didn’t know if Mayfield suffered a fracture on his thumb as the initial X-rays didn’t reveal that.

“I don’t know that yet,” Bowles said. “The X-rays didn’t show that, so the MRI tomorrow [will] show more.”

The Bucs will likely start rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels, who filled in for Mayfield during Tampa Bay’s final series on Sunday. The undrafted free agent beat out veteran Jake Browning for the backup job in training camp and the preseason and the Bucs wound up releasing Browning.

“Jalon [Daniels] right now,” Bowles said. “We haven’t really gotten into it yet. We’ll see what the MRI says tomorrow and then we’ll kind of talk amongst ourselves and kind of see, but right now, Jalon would probably go in.”

Veteran Easton Stick, who has ties to offensive coordinator Zac Robinson from their time together in Atlanta, is on the practice squad and will be elevated to the game day roster for at least the next three weeks if Mayfield is out of action for that long. But exactly how long Mayfield will be out remains a mystery until the quarterback undergoes an MRI on Monday.

“They won’t know until the MRI [on Monday] when they can really look inside and see what it is,” Bowles said. “I don’t know.”

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

How Long Will The Bucs Be Without Baker Mayfield?

Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield has a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand, and it is unclear as to whether it is a minor or major UCL (ulnar collateral ligament) injury. Mayfield and the team will know how severe his injury is once the MRI results are in on Monday.

Jesse Morse, M.D. is a noted sports doctor on the X social media platform. He listed the possibilities for the amount of time Mayfield could be out of action in a recent X post.

A minor UCL injury involves a partial tear, which means Mayfield could miss a week or two if that is the diagnosis. A full tear of that ligament would require surgery and would keep the Bucs QB sidelined for up to a month. If this were to be the diagnosis then Mayfield would likely be placed on injured reserve to free up a roster spot. If this were to occur then it would mean he would miss a minimum of four games.

If an MRI reveals a fracture to his thumb that the initial X-ray missed, then Mayfield’s absence could be longer than four weeks. That too would require surgery and mean an injured reserve designation for at least four games.

The problem with a UCL thumb injury on a throwing hand is that it affects everything from gripping the football to velocity and accuracy of the throws. Even if it’s a mild sprain, can Mayfield effectively grip the football and throw it accurately with enough velocity to be effective as a passer? It’s too early to tell prior to getting the results back from his MRI and the swelling that undoubtedly occured because of this type of injury.

As Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reported on X, Mayfield’s right thumb was bleeding, which could mean a fracture, and might explain the breaking of the skin on his thumb that caused the bleeding.

Dr. David J. Chao, who is known as @ProFootballDoc on X, suggests the same time frame as Dr. Morse did in terms of Mayfield missing time and recovering – possibly from surgery if necessary. Dr. Chao mentions that former Saints quarterback Drew Brees went through a similar thumb injury during the 2019 season after he hit his thumb against the helmet of Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald in Week 2. Brees had surgery on this thumb and returned to action after missing five weeks.

That year the Saints went 13-3, including an 8-3 mark with Brees at quarterback. When Brees returned to action he threw for 25 touchdowns and just two interceptions in helping New Orleans win the NFC South.