Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield looks on track to return from a dislocated right thumb in Week 7 when Tampa Bay plays Carolina.
After he ranked as one full participant in Wednesday’s injury reportMayfield was at the podium to speak to reporters at a news conference Thursday.
“Feel good, just getting better“I’ve never missed time with an injury,” Mayfield said. So, no fun. You always want to be there with your boys. But just doing the rehab process as much as possible every day and trying to recover as quickly as possible. And take it one day at a time. So it’s felt better and better. But that’s the frustrating part. It just takes time with an injury like that.
“But we’ve gotten him to a place where he’s strong enough to be able to play,” Mayfield added.
Mayfield will wear a glove on his right hand with protection behind the thumb to help stabilize him. Mayfield mentioned that the Bucs medical and training staff met with people from MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays to come up with a specific solution that works for him.
“Really, when you throw the glove, you just have to get used to it,” Mayfield said. “It just changes the release points. You can’t grip it as hard because it’s going to stick to the handle — different things like that. So just getting a lot of reps, practicing with it, getting used to it. So it feels good. But, the coaching staff, the equipment guys are doing a tremendous job — we’ve been through all the scenarios, all the different things, being able to put on a cover and finally. So, they’ve done a job incredible in helping me get to where I am and ready to exercise and go.
Mayfield added that he is “very confident” in his ability to catch and shoot and doesn’t feel limited.
“I think I was more concerned about the impact of getting the ball under center with Graham (Barton) putting it back there,” Mayfield said. “It feels good catching it and throwing it. It’s just the impact, that was really my concern and it’s felt good so far.”
So far this season, Mayfield has completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 615 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in three games. He has been sacked 13 times, on 11.9 percent of his completions.
