Baker Mayfield has started 45 consecutive regular season games since joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2023, and he is about to extend that to 46 consecutive games.
Mayfield watched the second half of last week’s game in Los Angeles from the sidelines with his left arm in a sling after suffering a shoulder injury, and he was not able to practice Wednesday. However, his recovery has since made steady progress and he was able to practice fully on Friday. He is not among the Buccaneers’ inactives on Sunday and is expected to start against the Arizona Cardinals.
Mayfield will spend some time Sunday afternoon handing off to second-year running back Bucky Irving, who is back in action after missing the Bucs’ last seven games due to shoulder and foot injuries. Mayfield and Irving were two of six players listed as questionable on the Buccaneers’ Friday injury report, but all six have been cleared to play. Starting left guard Ben Bredesen is back after missing two games with a hamstring injury; Cornerback Jamel Dean will miss only one game due to a hip injury; Outside linebacker Haason Reddick is back after missing four games with ankle and knee problems; And outside linebacker Anthony Nelson has overcome a rib injury he suffered last weekend.
Rookie cornerback Benjamin Morrison was not as lucky; He will miss his second straight game due to a hamstring injury suffered in practice last weekend.
The Buccaneers and Cardinals submitted their lists of inactives at 11:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, 90 minutes before the scheduled kickoff of their Week 13 meeting at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The Buccaneers elevated safety Marcus Banks from their practice squad for the game and thus had to name six inactive players to reach the game-day limit of 48. The Cardinals elevated tight end Pharaoh Brown and linebacker Channing Tindall from the practice squad to 54 available players, which meant they had to name six inactive players on Sunday.
Arizona had a long list of injuries this week and had six players ruled out Friday, though two — running back Trey Benson and offensive lineman Christian Jones — are technically still on injured reserve. Another Cardinals running back, Imari Demercado, would be sidelined for the game with an ankle injury; He leads the team with 241 rushing yards this season. Arizona’s starting right guard, Will Hernandez, is also unavailable because of hip and knee ailments, and he was placed on injured reserve on Saturday. The Cardinals’ defense will miss rookie defensive lineman Walter Nolen, a first-round draft pick who returned a fumble for a touchdown in last weekend’s overtime loss to Jacksonville.
- QB Connor Bazelak (3rd QB)
- g luke haggard
- G Eliza Klein
- S Kevon Meriwether
- cb benjamin morrison
- DL Elijah Simmons
Morrison is out due to injury.
- RB Imari Demercado
- G Hayden Conner
- CB Elijah Jones
- CB Max Melton
- DL Walter Nolen
- S.Dadrian Taylor-Demerson
Demercado, Melton, Nolen and Taylor-Demerson are out with injuries.
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