Baker Mayfield dislocates thumb on throwing hand during Buccaneers' loss to Vikings

Mayfield was in serious pain following a fourth-quarter interception

Sep 27, 2026 at 8:10 pm ET • 1 min read

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield injured his throwing hand near the end of the Buccaneers' Week 3 23-16 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. According to head coach Todd Bowles, Mayfield dislocated his thumb.

"He'll get an MRI tomorrow just to see exactly what inside is wrong with it, so we'll know tomorrow," Bowles told reporters after the game. 

Facing a fourth-and-13 down four points with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Mayfield bought time in the backfield before throwing an interception to Andrew Van Ginkel while being hit. The Bucs' quarterback was seen writhing on the ground in pain and heard screaming as he grasped at his right hand. Mayfield eventually walked off the field with trainers and headed straight for the locker room. 

Undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels replaced him under center on the Bucs' next possession. He rushed one time for nine yards and failed to complete any of his three passing attempts, including a Hail Mary attempt that was intercepted by Isaiah Rodgers 

Mayfield completed 17 of 34 passes for 217 yards, one touchdown and one interception before exiting the game. It's been a tough start to the season for the Buccaneers, as they began with losses to the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns and Vikings to move to 0-3. Just three weeks ago, Mayfield signed a three-year contract extension that averages $55 million — tying him as the No. 3 highest-paid quarterback in the NFL.

This is the Buccaneers' first 0-3 start since 2014, and they are the sixth team in the past decade to start 0-3 with all three losses coming in one-score games, per CBS Sports Research.