Baker Mayfield Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield injured his right ankle on a QB sneak in the first quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Colts. He was able to return and finish out the game, completing 20 of 30 passes for 199 yards, two TDs, and one INT. But Mayfield took six sacks and was clearly missing his usual mobility. Neither Mayfield nor HC Todd Bowles would guarantee afterward that Mayfield will be able to play vs. the Panthers this weekend. “I’ll have to wait until he gets checked out and see how bad it is after the game once he puts it up. That’s going to be the tell-tale sign," Bowles said. We'll look for further updates on Mayfield's injury and track his practice participation this week. QB Kyle Trask would get the start if Mayfield is out.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield suffered an apparent right knee injury on a QB sneak in the first quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Colts. He's been replaced by QB Kyle Trask. We'll update Mayfield's status when we know more.

Update: Mayfield returned on Tampa Bay's next possession.

The Bucs found "no issues" with the right thumb QB Baker Mayfield banged on a helmet in Sunday's win over the Titans, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. "He will not miss any practice time, and he is set to be ready for Sunday’s game vs. the 49ers," Schefter adds. We'll keep an eye on Mayfield throughout the week, but it doesn't sound like the thumb will be a problem going forward.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield injured his right thumb when he banged it against a helmet in the fourth quarter of Sunday's win over the Titans. Mayfield didn't miss any snaps, but NFL Network's Ian Rapoport calls the injury "worth monitoring." Mayfield is scheduled for testing on the thumb on Monday. We'll update his status when we know more.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield was not the best QB on the field in the Week 9 shootout loss to the Texans -- but he played well. Mayfield completed 21 of 30 passes (70%) for 265 yards (8.8 YPA), two TDs, and 0 INTs. He connected with TE Cade Otton for a 14-yard TD with less than a minute to go to give the Bucs a short-lived lead that QB C.J. Stroud would eventually erase. But it was another solid showing from Mayfield in what's been a generally solid season. He's now tossed multiple TDs in four of eight games. Week 10 brings a Titans defense that entered this week ranked eighth in adjusted fantasy points allowed to QBs. But Tennessee sits 25th in pass defense DVOA (vs. second in run defense DVOA). It’s a matchup that’ll have Mayfield on the spot-start radar.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield (knee) is active for tonight's game vs. the Bills. He was wearing a sleeve on his left leg in pre-game warmups, but there's been no indication that the knee will be a major factor tonight. Still, Mayfield profiles as just a low-end QB2 with the Bucs sporting a 16.5-point implied total.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero confirms that Bucs QB Baker Mayfield (knee) and WR Chris Godwin (neck) will play vs. the Bills tonight. Both guys are listed as questionable but put in full practices on Wednesday. We're not expecting either guy to be limited tonight.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield (knee) is listed as questionable for Thursday night's game vs. the Bills. He was a full-go in Wednesday's practice, so he should be available tomorrow. Just check back around 7 pm ET to make sure Mayfield is active.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield suffered a left hand contusion in Sunday's loss to the Lions, HC Todd Bowles said. X-rays on the hand came back clean. Mayfield should be fine for next weekend's game vs. the Falcons, but we'll keep an eye on him this week.

Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield threw for 317 yards and 1 TD in Sunday's win over the Bears. He went 26 of 34 passing (76.5%) at 9.3 yards per attempt. A 70-yarder to WR Mike Evans certainly didn't hurt those numbers. Week 3 holds a home date with the Eagles, who have allowed each of their first two opponents to top 350 yards passing. That's probably not going to push Mayfield into our top 12 QBs for Week 3. But he'll carry upside at least for superflex leagues.

Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles announced Tuesday that QB Baker Mayfield will be the starter. It's the news we've all been waiting for, and Mayfield's projection has sat well ahead of Kyle Trask's ever since our fantasy football rankings came out. Mayfield, of course, played his way into getting replaced by Deshaun Watson in Cleveland and then played his way out of Carolina in just part of 2022. Although the former No. 1 overall pick has also flashed positively at times, it's tough to get excited about him. Let's hope he can at least do enough to support the weekly fantasy values of WRs Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, and RB Rachaad White. Trask remains a decent stash for superflex and dynasty rosters, in case Mayfield plays his way out of another starting gig.

The Buccaneers didn't play QB Baker Mayfield at all in the second preseason game. Instead, they rode Kyle Trask throughout the first half, and then re-inserted him after John Wolford left with a neck injury. HC Todd Bowles said afterward that doesn't mean he has named a starter. "We were going to play Baker at the end of the half, but we wanted to see Kyle in the two-minute period, so we kind of left him at the time it went down," Bowles said, according to Pewter Report. "He was up to play. I made the decision at the last minute." Although Bowles still refuses to admit it, signs sure seem to point toward Mayfield being the guy. Of course, either Bucs QB will only be an option in 2-QB and superflex formats, or as a late third QB in best ball drafts.

Preseason Round 1 of the Bucs' QB battle went to Baker Mayfield. He got the start in Friday's night exhibition vs. the Steelers and finished 8-of-9 for 63 yards, 1 TD, and 0 INTs across three possessions. QB Kyle Trask played the next four series, completing 6 of 10 passes for 99 yards, 0 TDs, and 1 INT. Mayfield earned a strong 87.7 Pro Football Focus passing grade vs. Trask's 57.4. This battle probably isn't settled just yet, but Mayfield is the favorite to open the season as Tampa's starter.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield will start this week's preseason opener, and QB Kyle Trask will start the second exhibition, according to Pewter Report. Mayfield and Trask have reportedly been splitting first-team reps in training camp. This is further confirmation that this remains an ongoing battle.

Bucs OC Dave Canales said Tuesday that the competition for the team's starting QB job is even tighter now than it was earlier this offseason. QB Kyle Trask has had a nice start to camp, while QB Baker Mayfield has already tossed five INTs. “The first couple of days, I think the experience that Baker brings – just playing in games, being in camps, going through installs – you can see where the offense was gelling really well,” Canales said. "But it just took a couple of days for Kyle to really settle in. And then what we saw is the last two practices, Kyle really showed what he can do, stretching the field with his arm, getting the ball out quickly, making decisions. So I’m really excited about both of those guys and the progressions they’ve made throughout the last couple of days.” This battle figures to ultimately be decided in preseason action. Stay tuned.

Bucs reporter Jenna Laine believes QB Kyle Trask has improved his processing and decisiveness since minicamp. “The QB competition is a lot closer than it was back then,” Laine tweeted. Trask and Baker Mayfield are splitting first-team reps in training camp. We might not get a Week 1 starter named until after the preseason.

Former Vikings GM -- and current CBS analyst -- Rick Spielman visited Buccaneers minicamp in June and came away expecting QB Baker Mayfield to be the starter. "Even though they say it's an open competition, the feel that I got, there's no question Baker will be the starting quarterback," Spielman said on a CBS podcast. That's certainly the general assumption and how we have Bucs passers in our QB rankings. But Mayfield would get at least a slight boost as the sure starter. And his current Underdog Fantasy superflex ADP has him at QB32, last among starters. Especially if you combine him with WRs Chris Godwin and/or Mike Evans -- or even RB Rachaad White, who caught 50 passes as a rookie -- there's upside for Mayfield from that starting point. Check out our superflex rankings for more.

Greg Auman of Fox Sports believes the Bucs might use more pre-snap motion and shifting in 2023. Tampa Bay utilized motion at the snap on only 7.5% of its plays last year — 2nd fewest league-wide, per ESPN. New OC Dave Canales comes from a Seattle offense that ranked 14th (17.7%) in the same category. "I would say it's unpredictable," QB Kyle Trask said of the new approach. "You don't know what you're going to get. We can come at you in different ways, then throw it over the top of your head. You just never know. You saw the success they had in Seattle [with Canales] with that philosophy, and I think you add our weapons into that, we could be very dangerous. I'm really excited to see how this plays out in the fall.” Baker Mayfield is the favorite to start Week 1. But we remain skeptical of his fantasy value outside of superflex leagues.

The Buccaneers have reached a one-year, $8.5 million deal with QB Baker Mayfield, according to multiple reports. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport had previously talked about the Bucs bringing in Mayfield to compete with former second-round pick Kyle Trask for the starting job. We'd bet on Mayfield winning that competition. But the contract shows that they're not banking on him as a starter. Taylor Heinicke, for example, got a two-year contract worth up to $10 million a year from the Falcons. Mayfield played his way out of Carolina after his Cleveland exit. He gained some praise for the brief Rams stint but compiled just 6.6 yards per pass attempt and a 3.1% TD rate there. Mayfield is far from a lock for any meaningful production going forward. But he's interesting as a QB3 pick late in best ball drafts right now, especially when paired with Tampa Bay WRs Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, or Russell Gage. Gage has been going especially late. So you can potentially pair him with Mayfield using just your final two picks. Not much risk at that point.