Quarterback Baker Mayfield’s dislocated thumb was the headline news for the Buccaneers on the injury front in Week 3, but he isn’t the only offensive player set to miss time.
Wide receiver Jalen McMillan left Tampa’s 23-16 loss to the Vikings with a left knee injury. Per multiple reports, McMillan will miss 6-8 weeks after suffering a PCL injury.
McMillan initially hurt his knee over the summer and this is an aggravation of the previous injury.
McMillan had eight touchdown catches as a rookie in 2024, but he was limited to four games by a neck injury last year and hopes that he’d return to an impactful role in the offense this year have taken a major hit.
Bucs Clips
There is more clarity on Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield after he suffered a dislocated thumb late in Sunday’s loss to the Vikings.
Head coach Todd Bowles told reporters in his Monday press conference that Mayfield will be out for a minimum of three weeks.
“It’s consistent with everything we thought it was — a dislocation,” Bowles said.
According to multiple reporters on the Bucs beat, further tests on Mayfield’s thumb did not reveal a fracture or ligament damage.
With the current timetable, the Buccaneers are not planning on placing Mayfield on injured reserve right now. But that could change. If the Bucs were to put Mayfield on IR, he’d be out for a minimum of four games.
Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels is set to become the starter in Mayfield’s absence.
“Well it’s going to be like every other rookie, but he’s played well in the preseason,” Bowles said. “He’s very bright. He’s not going to be out there by himself — there will be 22 other guys out there helping him out. So, we’re just expecting him to do his job, play at a high level, as he expects from himself.”
Bowles added that the Buccaneers will likely add either a veteran or a practice squad quarterback. Only Mayfield and Daniels are on the 53-man roster with Easton Stick on the practice squad.
Betting against the Buccaneers is good business.
After losing 23-16 as 1.5-point underdogs to the Vikings yesterday, the Buccaneers have now lost 12 consecutive games against the spread. Although there are no official records for point spread records, multiple betting researchers say no team in the Super Bowl era has ever lost that many consecutive games against the spread.
The Bucs have been favored in eight of those 12 games, but it doesn’t matter if the Buccaneers are big favorites: They were favored by nine points in Week 2 against the Browns and also by nine points in Week 14 last year against the Saints. The Bucs lost both games outright.
The last time the Bucs won against the spread was Week 8 of the 2025 season. That day, the Bucs were 3.5-point favorites against the Saints and won 23-3. In the 11 months since then, it has never paid off to bet on the Bucs.
Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield had to leave Sunday’s loss to the Vikings late in the fourth quarter and medical tests will help determine when he’s able to return.
Head coach Todd Bowles told reporters that Mayfield dislocated his right thumb on his final play of the game. Mayfield hit his thumb on Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman while throwing an interception under pressure just after the two minute warning. Mayfield’s screams could be heard on the broadcast and he went directly to the locker room after getting up.
Bowles said Mayfield will have an MRI on Monday to find out more about the extent of the injury. Bowles also said that X-rays did not show any fracture.
Rookie Jalon Daniels played the final snaps of the 23-16 loss and threw an interception while trying for a miracle on the final snap of the game. He is the only other quarterback on the Bucs’ roster and Easton Stick in on their practice squad.
The Vikings won’t be thrilled with how their offense performed in Sunday’s 23-16 win over the Buccaneers, but they had plenty to like on defense.
Brian Flores’s group sacked Baker Mayfield six times and pressured him into an interception that sealed the win just after the two minute warning. The Bucs added their final points of the day on a field goal shortly after the injury and rookie Jalon Daniels took the final snaps for the Bucs because Mayfield was already in the locker room.
Mayfield left because he slammed his right thumb into Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman while being hit after throwing the aforementioned interception. Mayfield’s post-play screams of pain could be heard on the Fox broadcast and he went directly to the locker room after getting up. Mayfield ended the day 17-of-34 for 217 yards and a touchdown and the 0-3 Bucs will be hoping that the news on his thumb is better than it seemed on the field.
The Vikings only picked up 77 yards of offense after the break as Kyler Murray struggled to move the ball. He was sacked three times while going 15-of-29 for 168 yards. A good chunk of those yards came on 30- and 41-yard completions to Jordan Addison in the second quarter and the 41-yarder accounted for the Vikings’ only offensive touchdown of the afternoon.
It didn’t help that wide receiver Justin Jefferson was lost for the day to an ankle injury in the first quarter, but relying on defense and special teams every week is a dangerous game to play. The special teams came through with Myles Price’s 86-yard punt return touchdown and three Will Reichard field goals, including a 56-yarder after the Bucs drew within a point in the fourth quarter.
The Vikings will host the 0-3 Dolphins next weekend, so their chances of improving to 4-0 will look good even if there’s no good news about Jefferson. The Buccaneers will host a pretty desperate Packers team in a Week 4 game that could make hot seats even warmer for the losers.
Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson’s day is done.
Jefferson has been ruled out due to the ankle injury he suffered in the first quarter of Sunday’s game in Tampa. Jefferson had two early catches that helped set up a field goal, but the team has been without him for most of the day.
That has not stopped them from taking a 17-10 lead into halftime, but a big play by the Bucs defense made things more interesting shortly after the Bucs announced Jefferson won’t return. Bucs defensive tackle Vita Vea batted a Kyler Murray pass into teammate A’Shawn Robinson’s hands and the Bucs had the first turnover of the day.
The Bucs took over on the Tampa 22-yard-line, but they weren’t able to move the ball and settled for a field goal that made it 17-13 with 7:12 to play in the third quarter.
The Vikings lost Justin Jefferson to an ankle injury during the first half of Sunday’s game in Tampa, but another wide receiver stepped up to make sure they went into halftime with a lead.
Jordan Addison was able to keep his toes on the ground as he caught a 30-yard pass from Kyler Murray to move the Vikings into Buccaneers territory in the second quarter and then he went airborne to snag a 41-yard touchdown pass from the quarterback two plays later. The score made it 17-10 Vikings with 4:11 to play in the half and the Vikings were able to force a punt with 1:46 to play by pressuring Baker Mayfield into a third down incompletion.
The Vikings tried another deep shot to Addison on their ensuing possession, but he wasn’t able to reel this one in. The Vikings punted and the half ended with Minnesota still up by seven points.
Jefferson left the game with an ankle injury in the first quarter and he’s been called questionable to return. He stayed on the sideline for most of the half, but did head to the locker room a little early.
The Bucs lost Jalen McMillan to a knee injury and he has been ruled out. They could use someone to step up like Addison if they’re going to pick up their first win of the year.
Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota both started and led their teams to victories today.
Yes, you’re reading this in 2026.
Winston and Mariota, the top two picks in the 2015 NFL draft, both won as starting quarterbacks today for the first time since September 29, 2019. That was almost seven years ago — 2,556 days, to be exact.
On that day in 2019, Winston completed 28 of 41 passes for 385 yards, with four touchdowns and one interception, as the Buccaneers beat the Rams 55-40. Meanwhile, Mariota was completing 18 of 27 passes for 227 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions, as the Titans beat the Falcons 24-10.
Today, Winston completed 14 of 22 passes for 118 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions, as the Giants beat the Titans 12-7. Mariota completed 19 of 31 passes for 183 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions, as the Commanders beat the Seahawks 33-31.
Neither Winston nor Mariota lived up to the expectations the Buccaneers and Titans had when they were drafted. But they’re both still at it, at age 32, and showing that they can play winning football.
The Vikings have quarterback Kyler Murray back in the lineup, but they may have lost their top wide receiver for the rest of the day.
Justin Jefferson left the game to get checked out in the sideline medical tent during the first quarter in Tampa and the team announced that he is considered questionable to return with an ankle injury. Jefferson had two catches for 32 yards on the opening drive of the game.
The Vikings kicked a field goal at the end of that possession and tacked on more points on a Myles Price punt return. The Bucs got on the board on their second possession when Baker Mayfield hit wide receiver Ted Hurst with a 40-yard touchdown to make it 10-7.
The Bucs have also lost a wideout to an injury and they say Jalen McMillan won’t return after hurting his knee.
The NFL’s first punt return touchdown of the 2026 season belongs to Vikings wide receiver Myles Price.
Price fielded a Riley Dixon punt at his own 14-yard line and broke loose for an 86-yard score. The touchdown pushed the Vikings’ lead to 10-0 with 8:43 left to play in the first quarter.
It was the first touchdown of Price’s NFL career.
The Vikings opened the scoring with a seven-play, 40-yard drive that ended with a Will Reichard field goal. Wide receiver Justin Jefferson caught two passes for 32 yards from Kyler Murray on the drive. Murray is returning after being cleared from his Week 1 concussion.
