Baker Mayfield will be fully ready and will not carry an injury designation into Week 18, as expected. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers cleared their star quarterback late in the week ahead of their all-or-nothing matchup with the Carolina Panthers.
Mayfield began the week listed as questionable after logging a limited practice session due to shoulder and knee injuries. After two full practices, he has been removed from the Buccaneers’ final Week 18 injury report.
Tampa Bay confirmed that cornerback Jamel Dean and linebacker Anthony Nelson will not play, while defensive tackle Calijah Kancey remains listed as questionable. All other players, including Mayfield, will be fully active.
The news is a small victory for the Buccaneers before their biggest game of the year. Despite going just 1-7 in their last eight games, Tampa Bay’s final game of the regular season is for the NFC South title, with the winner claiming the final playoff spot in the conference.
Mayfield has seemingly been banged up for a while, ever since he left the Buccaneers’ Week 12 loss to the Los Angeles Rams with a right shoulder injury. This current issue appears to be unrelated, but the 30-year-old has been struggling with his accuracy and consistency in the last month.
Mayfield did not play in the second half against the Rams, but he has not missed a game all season. His grittiness and resiliency were part of why fans viewed him as an MVP frontrunner early in the year before the Buccaneers’ season fell apart.
Regardless, Mayfield is coming off one of his best performances of the year. In his second game with Chris Godwin, Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan all in the lineup, Mayfield threw for 345 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in a 20-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins. The yard total was his second-highest of the season.