Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield Suffers Significant Injury Against Vikings

Scary injury for QB1 in Tampa Bay.

Sep 27, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) passes the ball under pressure from Minnesota Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman (51) during the third quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers tried, but once again fell short. This time losing to the Minnesota Vikings at home, 23-16, to drop them to 0-3 to begin the season — the first time the team has had such a start in over a decade (2014).

It was a putrid offensive showing once again, as the offensive line struggled to contain the Vikings' front seven, and Baker Mayfield seemed not in sync with his wide receivers.

While there is plenty to talk about when dismantling how things went wrong against the Vikings, the Bucs might be in even more trouble moving forward after Mayfield suffered what appeared to be a significant hand injury on his final offensive drive.

Baker Mayfield Suffers Hand Injury Late Against Vikings

Mayfield appeared to have injured the same hand earlier in the game, but powered through. However, when scrambling on fourth down to try to give the Bucs any sort of chance, he appeared to injure it even further.

Baker Mayfield headed to the locker room after an apparent injury 🙏 pic.twitter.com/E4Kcyclbcn

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 27, 2026

Following the interception thrown by Mayfield, he could be heard screaming in agony over the live FOX broadcast. For a guy who's played through plenty of injuries and is seen as one of the toughest players out there, that is not a good sign.

The severity of Mayfield's injury isn't known yet, and it's likely we won't get an immediate explanation from Todd Bowles. So, we will have to wait until further testing is done before we can start to monitor whether or not the Bucs will have to move forward with undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels.

Mayfield finished the day completing just 50% of his 34 passes for 217 yards, one touchdown, and the one interception that came on his final throw of the game.

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