Is Baker Mayfield Playing Sunday? Buccaneers QB Expected Back vs. Panthers With Thumb Glove

Baker Mayfield practiced fully all week and will wear a reinforced glove on his throwing hand as the 1-5 Buccaneers try to catch Carolina in the NFC South.

by Neal Coolong

Oct 24, 2026

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6)

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game at Carolina, but that designation looks like a formality. Barring a setback in the next 24 hours, Mayfield is expected to return against the Panthers, Tom Pelissero reported Saturday, after Todd Bowles set a Friday deadline to make the call.

Mayfield was a full participant Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, his first full week of work since he dislocated the thumb on his throwing hand Sept. 27 against Minnesota. Even the coach on the other sideline saw it coming. Panthers coach Dave Canales, who was Mayfield’s offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay in 2023, said, “I kind of figured that would be the case.”

How the thumb glove changes things

Oct 8, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers injured quarterback Baker Mayfield before the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.

Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Mayfield isn’t 100 percent. He’ll wear a glove with a pad on the back of the thumb and metal reinforcement to keep it from bending backward, according to ESPN’s Jenna Laine, and the Tampa Bay Rays helped build it. Pelissero reported the glove will affect how he throws, and Mayfield admitted as much. “You got to get used to it,” he told reporters. “Just changing your release points.”

Bucs fans won’t care about the mechanics if the results change. Tampa Bay is 1-5 and 2.5 games behind the 3-2 Panthers in the NFC South, and rookie Jalon Daniels went 1-2 as the starter, including last week’s overtime loss to the Steelers. Mayfield wasn’t lighting it up before the injury, either. He completed 61 of 96 passes for 615 yards with two touchdown passes and two interceptions in three losses, and his 58.9 PFF grade ranks 27th among 35 quarterbacks.

He won’t have his full supporting cast. Receiver Emeka Egbuka (concussion) and right tackle Luke Goedeke (calf) are out, leaving the Bucs with new holes on offense just as their starter returns. Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (rib) is also out on the other side of the ball. Carolina will be without edge rusher Jaelan Phillips (hamstring), which should ease some of the pressure on a quarterback who can’t squeeze the ball the way he normally would. For a team that needs a win to stay in the division race, a limited Mayfield is still the best option it has.