Baker Mayfield

QB, TB

Baker Mayfield enters this stretch as Tampa Bay's starter in name only — a dislocated throwing thumb has him out roughly 2-4 weeks with undrafted rookie Jalen Daniels running the offense in his place. Even before the injury, shows had him ranked bottom-tier in EPA and QBR, overthrowing receivers and getting battered behind a leaky line, so this isn't a healthy asset losing time — it's a struggling one losing time.

The arc flipped hard: Fantasy Football Today and FantasyPros were pushing a QB1 revenge-game narrative against Cleveland on Sept 17-19, but by Sept 21 every show — Establish The Run, Rotoworld, The Ringer — turned on him after ugly losses to Cleveland and Minnesota exposed constant pressure and inaccurate, careless throws. Dynasty Nerds even floated him as fair trade value for Bryce Young, showing how far his stock had already fallen before the Sept 28 thumb injury made him unplayable; Fantasy Feast and Yahoo's Matt Harmon both stressed he was already performing poorly under new OC Zach Robinson when he went down.

The line: Bench or stash deep — he's out multiple weeks, and even before the thumb injury every show had soured on his accuracy and protection. · updated Sep 30

Wednesday, September 30

Sidelined for a short stretch under a struggling Robinson-led offense, but shows agree it's not IR-worthy — expect him back within a few weeks with Jalen Daniels holding the fort against Green Bay in the meantime.

▼ Fantasy Feast: NFL Fantasy Football Podcast: Mayfield is out for Tampa Bay's game against Green Bay, contributing to concerns about a lost Bucs season. listen ↗

▼ FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast: Out with injury; offense was already performing poorly with him under new OC Zach Robinson before he went down. listen ↗

▼ RotoWire Fantasy Football With Theo Gremminger: Out for Tampa Bay, paving the way for the rookie QB's first start and making the Buccaneers offense more exploitable. listen ↗

▼ The Audible: Performing like a .500 quarterback again, not as prolific as last year's peak under Liam Coen's scheme. listen ↗

▶ The Audible: Not going on IR; expected to miss less than four games, with Jalen Daniels starting this week against the Packers. listen ↗

Tuesday, September 29

All three shows agree: a dislocated thumb sidelines him roughly 2-4 weeks with unproven Jalen Daniels stepping in, and hosts note he wasn't playing well beforehand anyway — bench him and avoid the whole Bucs offense until he's back.

▶ Dynasty Nerds Podcast | Dynasty Fantasy Football: Cited as a fair trade return (plus a mid-late 2027 second) for Bryce Young. listen ↗

▼ Establish The Run Fantasy Football: Dislocated his thumb and is expected to miss at least three weeks, throwing the Bucs offense into disarray. listen ↗

▼ Fantasy Feast: NFL Fantasy Football Podcast: Ruled out for Buccaneers-Packers with a dislocated thumb, forcing backup Jalen Daniels into the lineup. listen ↗

▼ Fantasy Feast: NFL Fantasy Football Podcast: Dislocated thumb with no tendon/ligament damage, but expected out three to four weeks; needs to be fully healed to grip and throw. listen ↗

▼ Fantasy Life Show: Dislocated thumb expected to sideline him 2-4 weeks, with undrafted Jalen Daniels next up, tanking the whole Bucs offense's value. listen ↗

▼ FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast: Thumb injury seen as devastating for an already struggling Buccaneers team, likely ending any playoff hopes and pressuring Todd Bowles' job security. listen ↗

▼ Rotoworld Football Show – Fantasy Football: Lost for several weeks with injury, described as a potential death blow to an already struggling Bucs passing game. listen ↗

▼ The Audible: Injury (thumb) is a concern; Chris Godwin might need to be shut down in deeper/bench-spot leagues. listen ↗

▼ The Audible: Expected to miss three weeks with an injury. listen ↗

▼ Yahoo Fantasy Forecast with Matt Harmon: Dislocated right thumb, out ~3 weeks; hosts say he was already playing poorly before the injury. listen ↗

Monday, September 28

Every show has him dislocating his throwing thumb against Minnesota and expects him to miss multiple weeks, likely at least Week 4, with an undrafted rookie stepping in behind center; treat him as unrosterable in lineups until an MRI clears things up.

▼ Dynasty Nerds Podcast | Dynasty Fantasy Football: Dislocated thumb will keep him out multiple weeks with a brutal upcoming schedule (Packers, Cowboys, Steelers, Panthers), raising concern the Bucs could spiral toward a high draft pick. listen ↗

▼ Fantasy Feast: NFL Fantasy Football Podcast: Appeared to dislocate his thumb on his throwing hand late in the Vikings loss and will get an MRI; already struggling without Mike Evans in Zac Robinson's offense. listen ↗

▼ Fantasy Footballers - Fantasy Football Podcast: Dislocated his thumb on an ill-advised third-and-19 scramble; MRI showed no fracture/ligament/tendon damage, expected out roughly 2-4 weeks. listen ↗

▼ Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry: Will miss a minimum of three weeks with a dislocated thumb. listen ↗

▼ FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast: Thumb bent awkwardly on his throwing hand; x-rays/MRI pending, but even without a fracture the swelling makes it tough to play, with a minimum couple weeks out possible. listen ↗

▼ Rotoworld Football Show – Fantasy Football: Suffered a dislocated right throwing thumb and was in visible pain; hosts see no path for him to play in Week 4. listen ↗

▼ The Audible: Dislocated his throwing thumb in Sunday's game against the Vikings; expecting a multi-week absence is reasonable pending MRI results. listen ↗

▼ The Ringer Fantasy Football Show: Dislocated thumb on throwing hand, likely out; Bucs down to undrafted rookie Jalen (Teddy) Daniels as starter with no offensive coordinator calling plays. listen ↗

▼ Yahoo Fantasy Football with Josh & Hayden: Struggled badly under pressure (6 sacks) and left the game with an apparent dislocated finger, replaced by undrafted rookie Jalen Daniels. listen ↗

▼ Yahoo Fantasy Forecast with Matt Harmon: Struggled badly (17-34, 6 sacks) and left the game with an apparent dislocated finger on his throwing hand. listen ↗

Friday, September 25

▼ Fantasy Feast: NFL Fantasy Football Podcast: Bucs' passing game described as out of sync/lacking timing through two games. listen ↗

▼ Fantasy Footballers - Fantasy Football Podcast: Ranked 30th in EPA per play among QBs, overthrowing receivers consistently and failing to connect downfield, hurting the whole passing game. listen ↗

Thursday, September 24

▼ Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry: Ranked QB20 and labeled a fade this week against a tough Vikings pass defense allowing the league's lowest completion rate. listen ↗

▼ Fantasy Football Today: Tampa Bay's offense looks disorganized, Mayfield is holding the ball too long, and hosts recommend staying far away and even dropping him if needed. listen ↗

▼ The Audible: New scheme under Zach Robinson-successor doesn't fit his strengths; hosts call it a mismatch and only a superflex option. listen ↗

▼ Yahoo Fantasy Forecast with Matt Harmon: Hosts blame Mayfield's aimless, tight-window throws and turnover-prone decision-making for Tampa Bay's passing struggles, noting a massive efficiency gap between games with and without Mike Evans. listen ↗

Wednesday, September 23

▼ The Late-Round Fantasy Football Podcast: Has drastically worse efficiency without Mike Evans on the field (bottom-tier fantasy points/dropback) versus elite numbers with him; JJ wants multiple good games before starting him in single-QB leagues. listen ↗

Tuesday, September 22

▼ Establish The Run Fantasy Football: Ranked 26th in QBR through two weeks, extending a stretch of poor play dating back to last season; growing concern expressed. listen ↗

▼ Harris Fantasy Football Podcast: Was bad again, missing several deep shots including one that led to a pick-six-type turnover, undermining Tampa's loss. listen ↗

▼ Yahoo Fantasy Forecast with Matt Harmon: Struggling badly through two games despite new contract; hosts note he's historically streaky and expect better games ahead, but currently listed as a drop candidate. listen ↗

Monday, September 21

Every show is down on Mayfield right now: a leaky Tampa line has him under constant pressure, and back-to-back ugly outings against Cleveland and beyond have hosts questioning whether last year's scrambling magic was ever sustainable. With a tough blitz-heavy Vikings matchup up next, treat him as a bench option until the accuracy and protection issues clear up.

▶ Dynasty Nerds Podcast | Dynasty Fantasy Football: Overthrowing receivers and not looking sharp early, but his big contract gives him more job security than Bryce Young; hosts are split on trading him for Young. listen ↗

▼ Establish The Run Fantasy Football: Was locked into a stack with Emeka Egbuka for tournaments on FanDuel, but the stack failed because Mayfield performed poorly. listen ↗

▼ Fantasy Football Today: Struggled again behind a bad offensive line with the league's longest time-to-pressure; hosts aren't ready to fully give up given his strong recent track record. listen ↗

▼ FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast: Two ugly games in a row including a loss to Cleveland; hosts place most of the Bucs' offensive panic on Mayfield specifically, rating it around a 5.5-8 on the panic meter. listen ↗

▼ Rotoworld Football Show – Fantasy Football: Threw for lots of air yards but little real production, pressured constantly behind a poor line, and looks primed for negative regression; tough Week 3 matchup vs. Vikings' blitz-heavy defense. listen ↗

▼ The Ringer Fantasy Football Show: Outplayed by Deshaun Watson in a loss to Cleveland, sacked seven times with a ~40% pressure-to-sack rate; hosts worry last year's scrambling success was unsustainable. listen ↗

▼ Yahoo Fantasy Football with Josh & Hayden: Inaccurate and careless again, missing an open Emeka Egbuka on a potential game-winning touchdown and throwing a bad interception. listen ↗

Saturday, September 19

▲ The Late-Round Fantasy Football Podcast: Bold prediction that he outscores Joe Burrow this week, citing a favorable Browns pass-defense matchup and Tampa Bay's stronger underlying (turnover-adjusted) offensive efficiency. listen ↗

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