Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield has never been shy about sharing his feelings and he’s not veering from that approach when it comes to this weekend’s opponent.
The Buccaneers will head to New Orleans for a meeting with the Saints and Mayfield made it clear that he has no love for the team that will be trying to hand Tampa a second straight loss.
“It has not exactly been clean play from their part when we play them,” Mayfield said, via a transcript from the team. “It is a physical game; it is what it is. You expect it [from a] division rival. . . . Yeah, not much else to say besides for the fact that I do not like them.”
It’s not the first time Mayfield has talked about disliking the Saints. During an appearance on Pardon My Take this summer, Mayfield said he didn’t feel bad about throwing passes to Mike Evans so Evans could get to 1,000 receiving yards late in a Week 18 win last season because of the “hate” he has for the Bucs’ NFC South rivals.
Evans won’t be playing this Sunday, but it’s clear the animosity remains in place.
The Buccaneers had both of their quarterbacks on Wednesday’s lengthy injury report.
Baker Mayfield is listed as a limited participant due to a knee injury. Mayfield has been on the injury report at various other points this season, but has played all but one of the team’s offensive snaps.
Teddy Bridgewater played the other snap, but he did not practice at all on Wednesday. His teeth are listed as the reason why he was out of practice, which is unusual but wouldn’t seem to be an issue to keep him out for Sunday’s game against the Saints if he’s back at practice before the week is out.
Wide receiver Chris Godwin (fibula), running back Bucky Irving (foot, shoulder), and edge rusher Haason Reddick (knee, ankle) were also out of practice. Head coach Todd Bowles didn’t give any of the three players much chance of playing this week.
Linebacker Lavonte David (knee, rib), wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (hamstring), defensive tackle Greg Gaines (toe), guard Luke Haggard (shoulder), defensive back Christian Izien (knee), edge rusher Markees Watts (personal), and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (toe) were the other Bucs out of practice. Guard Ben Bredeson (shoulder), tight end Devin Culp (knee), and guard Michael Jordan (knee) were listed as limited participants while cornerback Zyon McCollum (thumb) and runnnig back Josh Williams (concussion) had full practices.
The Buccaneers know they won’t have wide receiver Mike Evans on the field against the Saints on Sunday and it looks like they’ll continue to be without two other offensive leaders as well.
Head coach Todd Bowles said there was no change in status for wide receiver Chris Godwin (fibula) and running back Bucky Irving (foot, shoulder). Godwin has missed the last two games and Irving has missed the last three games, and Bowles’ answer to a question about resting players with any lingering injury issues ahead of a Week 9 bye suggest they’re on track to remain out.
“They gotta be ready to play, and we gotta see that they can play before we put them out on the field, but with the bye week coming, if a guy’s very iffy, we’d probably be more inclined to not play if he’s not ready to play,” Bowles said.
Edge rusher Haason Reddick also looks like he’ll be inactive in Week 8. Bowles said MRI results of Reddick’s knee and ankle are not back yet, but that he expects the veteran to miss some time as a result of his injuries.
The Saints officially placed center Erik McCoy and running back Kendre Miller on season-ending injured reserve, the team announced Tuesday.
McCoy tore his biceps in Sunday’s 26-14 loss to the Bears, and running back Kendre Miller tore his ACL.
The Saints used one of the roster spots to sign running back Velus Jones Jr. to the active roster from the practice squad.
Jones has played five games for the Saints and has returned seven kickoffs for 174 yards (24.9 avg.) and made three special teams tackles.
He entered the NFL as a third-round draft pick of the Bears in 2022 out of Tennessee and has appeared in 34 games with two starts for the Bears (2022-24), Panthers (2024) and Saints (2025).
The Saints also announced the signing of running back Audric Estimé to the practice squad.
Saints head coach Kellen Moore opened his Monday press conference by confirming a pair of season-ending injuries.
Center Erik McCoy tore his biceps in Sunday’s 26-14 loss to the Bears and running back Kendre Miller tore his ACL.
“Really unfortunate because both of those guys have been playing some really good football,” Moore said.
McCoy was also limited to seven games because of injuries last season. Moore said that the team will “juggle a few pieces” in the coming days to figure out the best offensive line combination as they move toward their Week 8 game against the Buccaneers.
Miller had one carry for seven yards against Chicago. He had 47 carries for 193 yards and a touchdown in seven overall appearances.
