Baker Mayfield is a “dawg” as the kids like to say. He is expected to play in Week 13 as the Buccaneers aim for a much needed victory. Mayfield had suffered an AC joint sprain ahead of halftime in Week 12. It did not look good, but the man looks to be ready to go, despite the pain that he may experience. This will affect the Buccaneers given the fact that Mayfield is playing hurt, so we will analyze the Fantasy Football impact.
Mayfield is actually going to be a full-go with few limitations. The injury was to his non-throwing shoulder, so the accuracy should remain quite fine. Any concern will lie with Mayfield getting hit, or falling on his left shoulder. I would imagine that he plays more conservative, but he should play to expectation for the most part.
#NFL Injury Updates#Buccaneers Baker Mayfield – Data heavily favors playing. No dip projected for non-throwing shoulder. Re-injury = concern if he gets hit or falls on L side#Lions Amon-Ra St. Brown – Low ankle. Often played thru. Typically do see dip in targets ~3 wks
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— Deepak Chona, MD. SMA (@SportMDAnalysis) November 29, 2025
The Buccaneers are playing host to the Cardinals in Week 13. This is a new look Cardinals team with Jacoby Brissett, but their defense remains the same. Arizona is 20th in Total Defense and 25th in Points Allowed. They are the 17th ranked defense per the FPI.
Tampa Bay is favored to win this game by (3.5) points with and over/under of (44.5) points. This implies the Buccaneers to score (24) points, right on par with their average of (23.5) Points per Game.
Here is what Tampa Bay will face in terms of Ranking versus Position:
Baker Mayfield will have a very slight dip in play, adding lightly moderate risk. He is still worth a start, pending your roster options. Mayfield is our QB20 of the week.
Bucky Irving returns to a relatively heavy workload. Irving is our RB19 of the week and is a must-start.
HC Bowles on Bucky Irving’s usage in Week 13, via @JennaLaineESPN:
“We’ll put him in. Once he gets in, we’ll see how he’s rolling. And then between him, Rachaad, and Sean [Tucker], we’ll kind of go with the hot hand.” pic.twitter.com/gdjyi2HQ8j
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) November 28, 2025
Emeka Egbuka has a moderate matchup as a WR2 with WR1 upside. Egbuka is our WR15 of the week.
Cade Otton is a sleeper option is a great matchup. Otton is our TE20 of the week.
This is an injury that would have likely sidelined Mayfield for the season if it was his throwing shoulder. Luckily, it was not. Much of the week it had been expected that Teddy Bridgewater would get the start as the backup Quarterback. That will not happen.
The Buccaneers have a (0.5) game lead in the NFC South. Every game counts as the second place finisher may very well miss the playoffs. The 49ers are the final wild card team at the moment and they are 8-4, or (1.5) games ahead of Tampa Bay.