The Baker Mayfield era for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is seemingly off to a satisfactory start after they won their season opener versus the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, 20-17.
While Mayfield wasn’t dazzling, he did complete 21 of 34 passes and throw two touchdown passes and zero interceptions while helping set up the decisive field goal by Chase McLaughlin late in the fourth quarter.
However, he is now showing up on Tampa Bay’s injury report with a right shoulder injury, via Jenna Laine.
Baker Mayfield now on the injury report this week with an injury to his throwing shoulder. One of the drawbacks to having a quarterback with the “mentality of an offensive lineman” as coach Todd Bowles put it pic.twitter.com/uq7423iMNM
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) September 13, 2023
Mayfield was the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns, and the expectation was that he would be the franchise quarterback that the long-suffering Browns hadn’t enjoyed since Bernie Kosar in the 1980s.
He showed flashes of that potential by setting a rookie record for most touchdown passes and, in 2020, leading the Browns to their first playoff appearance since 2002 and their first postseason win since the mid-1990s.
But by and large, his time there was marred by poor play in crunch time and poor relations with his teammates and coaching staff.
Last offseason, the Browns traded him to the Carolina Panthers, but he played poorly, and after he suffered a sprained ankle in Week 5, he lost his starting job..
Mayfield was released and finished the year with the Los Angeles Rams.
His current stint with Tampa Bay could be his final chance to prove to the league that he is worthy of being a starting QB.
NEXT: Baker Mayfield Reveals He Figured Out Vikings’ Tactics
