Buccaneers OC shares hopeful Baker Mayfield update for Panthers game

Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales spoke with media members on Thursday and offered a promising update regarding the sore ribs quarterback Baker Mayfield is dealing with ahead of this Sunday's must-win game at the 2-14 Carolina Panthers.

"He had a third-down period," Canales said about Mayfield, as shared by the JoeBucsFan website. "You know, took all the reps in a nice third-down period and he threw some accurate balls. He looked pretty good… As far as throwing, he looked functional today. He ripped a couple of balls down the field and looked OK."

Mayfield suffered his latest injury when he took a hit from New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu late in this past Sunday's game that Tampa Bay lost 23-13. The 28-year-old signal-caller then raised eyebrows when he declined on Wednesday to confirm he'll start over 2021 second-round draft pick Kyle Trask against the Panthers. 

According to Greg Auman of Fox Sports, the Buccaneers officially listed Mayfield as a limited participant for Thursday's practice. 

8-8 Tampa Bay holds the tiebreaker advantage over the 8-8 Saints and, thus, would clinch the NFC South division title and a playoff spot with a victory at Carolina's Bank of America Stadium. As of Thursday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Buccaneers as 4.5-point favorites over the Panthers. 

Mayfield emerged as a legitimate candidate to earn Comeback Player of the Year Award honors in his first season with Tampa Bay. Per ESPN stats, he enters Week 18 tied for fourth in the league with 28 touchdown passes, eighth with 3,907 passing yards and ninth among eligible players with a 95.9 passer rating on the campaign. To compare, Trask has never logged a single meaningful start during his pro career and has attempted just 10 total regular-season passes. 

Unless Mayfield's ribs respond poorly to practice sessions completed on Thursday and Friday, he seems on track to start for what is essentially a road playoff game versus a divisional opponent.