The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a lengthy injury report and it included quarterback Baker Mayfield, who is listed with a toe injury. Mayfield didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday, but says he will be able to start Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.
“A little sore but I’ll be good to go by Sunday,” Mayfield said, via a transcript from the team.
The Bucs played the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night, meaning they have a slightly less time to prep for the next game. Mayfield played all 52 of the team’s offensive snaps in the 30-24 overtime loss in Week 9.
The Bucs held walkthroughs on Wednesday and Thursday, opposed to full practices due to the short week.
Mayfield commented on the difficulties of a short week, saying it requires “a ton of mental work.”
“… Guys have to get their body right, and that’s — when you do the walkthroughs like we did today, they’re trying to allow us to recover as quickly as possible, but yeah, guys have to take the accountability to be locked in when you’re not getting the full speed reps of overcommunicating, understanding when we’re calling a certain pass play, what depth the route is at with the timing of it and all that,” the 29-year-old said.
The QB was one of five Bucs players to sit out Wednesday. The others include wide receivers Mike Evans (hamstring), Jalen McMillan (hamstring) and Sterling Shepard (hamstring/hip) and safety Jordan Whitehead (quad).
Mayfield is second in the league in passing yards (2,389) and leads the league in passing touchdowns with 23, with a completion percentage of 71.4 and nine interceptions. The Bucs sit at 4-5 and second in the NFC South behind the 6-3 Atlanta Falcons.
