Baker Mayfield injury: What status means for Week 13 vs. Cardinals

The 6-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the 4-7 Arizona Cardinals as 2.5-point favorites this Sunday. Tampa Bay needs a win to keep their extremely thin lead in the NFC South ahead of the Panthers.

Last week the Buccaneers lost quarterback Baker Mayfield to an in-game shoulder injury and backup Teddy Bridgewater took over. It wasn’t pretty as the Rams easily won, giving the Bucs their third straight loss. They really need a healthy Mayfield if they want their best shot at winning.

Mayfield suffered an AC joint sprain in his non-throwing shoulder last Sunday and was unable to return to the game. He then didn’t practice Wednesday, but was limited on Thursday and got a full practice in on Friday before being listed as questionable. The good news is that his coach, Todd Bowles, seemed optimistic that he could suit up. Then we got word that Mayfield would play, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

It sounds like Mayfield isn’t going to be limited by the injury and that the biggest concern is for him to aggravate the injury during the game. His ability at this point is pretty far ahead of Bridgewater. He is needed for the Buccaneer’s pass catchers and running backs to reach their fantasy upsides. The matchup is middling, as the Cardinals can play well on defense at times, but it isn’t a matchup to avoid. You should be able to start your regular Bucs players this week.