The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are slowly seeing quarterback Baker Mayfield progress toward getting his starting job back after dislocating his thumb. Mayfield was expected to grip and throw a football on Wednesday for the first time since his Week 2 injury.
In his first time talking to the media since Mayfield was expected to see some progress in his injury timeline, the Bucs head coach made it clear that there was no update to share.
“No more update than the usual; he is not ready to go,” said Bowles.
There is a lot to potentially take away from this. The usual is that Mayfield is not able to grip a ball. So, if nothing changes from the usual, it could mean that Mayfield is still unable to grip a football. At the same time, Bowles laid out earlier in the week that the plan was for him to progress after Wednesday. No update other than usual could mean that he remains on that timeline.
Todd Bowles Gives Vague Update on Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield
Bowles was asked to clarify more, and whether or not he was encouraged by what he saw on Wednesday. The Tampa Bay leader once again kept things brief.
“I’ll be encouraged when he has his helmet on out there practicing,” stated Bowles.
This adds to the idea that Mayfield might not have been able to grip a football. So, the usual is that he is not progressing, and the plan for Wednesday did not go quite as expected.
Bowles continued to feed into the unknown when asked if he thought Mayfield had a good chance to play for the Bucs in Week 7.
“Too early to tell,” is all that Bowles said.
That was the end of the exchange. It is hard to take a lot away, but it is easier to find a negative undertone to his progress based on these comments.
Bowles Gives Injury Update
This is not the only time Bowles has left many wondering due to his comments. When Bucky Irving was recovering from offseason surgery, Bowles noted that he might not get back to the practice field until the fall.
“He’s coming along fine, working out, we expect him sometime back in the summer or the fall, and you know, we’ll look forward to him when he gets back,” Bowles said.
Irving was back in OTAs. Bowles also made it sound as if wide receiver Emeka Egbuka could miss some time into the 2026 season.
In August, Bowles said that Egbuka was day-to-day or week-to-week with his foot injury. He also noted that he was not sure if Egbuka would play in Week 1. Of course, he did and has not missed any time due to his foot.
So, it is easy to read into what Bowles said. However, it is just as easy to realize he is keeping things tight.
Bucs Todd Bowles Raises Questions With Baker Mayfield Update