Baker Mayfield expects to start for Buccaneers vs. Panthers, barring a setback

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Maaddi, R. (2026, October 22). Baker Mayfield expects to start for Buccaneers vs. Panthers, barring a setback. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/baker-mayfield-expects-to-start-for-buccaneers-vs-panthers-barring-a-setback/article_652c7b55-e3f8-57d8-beb4-e9492f12baba.html

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Toronto Star · collected 2026-10-22 · by Rob Maaddi

Quick Summary

Baker Mayfield expects to start for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the Carolina Panthers this Sunday if there are no further complications with his dislocated right thumb. The injury occurred in Week 3 when Mayfield’s throwing hand hit a player during a pass attempt, leading him to miss three games. Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels has started and struggled in Mayfield's absence, going 1-2 with two interceptions in the last three games.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-22, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

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Story summary

Baker Mayfield expects to start for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the Carolina Panthers this Sunday, barring any setbacks from his thumb injury sustained during a Week 3 loss to the Vikings. Mayfield dislocated his right thumb when it hit linebacker Blake Cashman during a desperation pass attempt and has been gradually improving since then. He plans to wear a special protective glove in the game. The Buccaneers (1-5) are currently last in the NFC South and have struggled without their starting quarterback, with undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels going 1-2 as a replacement. Mayfield aims to return after missing three games but was not ready for last week's loss to Pittsburgh.

Written for “Baker Mayfield Expected To Start” on 2026-10-22, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Baker Mayfield Expected To Start
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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Claims extracted
28
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 28 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
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Publisher

Toronto Star · 9135 article(s) · 25 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 25 correction(s)
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-09-24
Correction

Who wrote this

Rob Maaddi
31 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Baker Mayfield expects to return from a thumb injury and play when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers face the Carolina Panthers on Sunday .
🔮 The hulking Díaz – he may have the biggest biceps in the majors — hit two-run homers in 7-3 victories in Games 4 and 6 against the Guardians.
🔮 “I don’t know if I could put into words right now the impact and importance he’s had to the pitchers here at the major league level, the entire pitching department throughout the organization,” manager Kevin Cash said.
🔮 The Rays will face the Milwaukee Brewers in the first matchup in which both teams are seeking their first World Series title since 1980.
🔮 TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Todd Bowles will have to be quite creative to surprise Aaron Rodgers.
🔮 Ben Williamson followed with a grounder that scooted underneath Ramírez’s glove and between his legs after the ball hit the edge where the artificial turf met the infield dirt.
🔮 “It’s been a while since we lost, so I think that’s a good thing, and I know the guys will come back and respond tomorrow,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said.
🔮 Four errors and another defensive miscue led to three unearned runs that a lineup missing three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge couldn’t overcome during a 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 2 of their AL Division Series on Monday night.
🔮 Ben Rice homered twice for the Yankees, who are on the verge of elimination — which would extend their drought without a World Series championship to 17 seasons.
🔮 Chiefs wide receiver Tyquan Thornton is expected to miss 12 to 16 weeks after dislocating his left ankle and tearing ligaments in it, a person with knowledge of the injury told The Associated Press on Monday.
Also by Rob Maaddi
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 31 articles by Rob Maaddi →

Topics

Buccaneers Fla. TAMPA the Carolina Panthers the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Subjects

Mayfield PERSON · 7× Buccaneers ORG · 3× Daniels PERSON · 2× Baker Mayfield PERSON · 1× Blake Cashman PERSON · 1× Fla. GPE · 1× TAMPA GPE · 1× Vikings ORG · 1× the Carolina Panthers ORG · 1× the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ORG · 1×

Narrative

And so when you have that, guys flying around, you hesitate at quarterback or your eyes are in the right spot quarterback and you’re trusting a guy to be there, you need to understand that you build this system based on timing, the rhythm of your feet, so it’s really important to do that.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-22
🔮 TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Baker Mayfield expects to return from a thumb injury and play when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers face the Carolina Panthers on Sunday .

Claims (28 extracted, 0 hedged)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Baker Mayfield expects to return from a thumb injury and play when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers face the Carolina Panthers on Sunday . asserted
Buccaneers → expect → Sunday
The two-time Pro Bowl quarterback dislocated his right thumb when his throwing hand hit Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman on a desperation pass on fourth down that was intercepted late in the fourth quarter of a 23-16 loss in Week 3. “It’s been feeling slowly better and better. asserted
It → dislocate → Week
That’s the frustrating part with an injury like that,” Mayfield said Thursday. asserted
Mayfield → ’ → that
Mayfield has worn a special glove in practice and plans to use it in the game. asserted
Mayfield → wear → game
Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels started the past three games, going 1-2. asserted
Daniels → start → games
The Buccaneers (1-5) are last in the NFC South entering the game at Carolina (3-2). asserted
Buccaneers → enter → Carolina
Mayfield said he was aiming to return to face Pittsburgh last week but wasn’t ready. asserted
he → say → Pittsburgh
The Bucs wasted a 16-3 lead in the fourth quarter and lost 26-19 in overtime. asserted
Bucs → waste → overtime
Daniels threw two picks in the fourth quarter that led to a pair of field goals. asserted
that → throw → goals
“Anytime you dislocate something there’s gonna be ligament damage. asserted
you → dislocate → something
It just didn’t happen to be ligaments and tendons that I needed surgery on,” Mayfield said. asserted
Mayfield → happen → surgery
And yeah, it’s football. asserted
it → ’ → ?
If something like that happens, that’s the nature of the game, unfortunately. asserted
that → happen → game
But we’ve got into a place where it’s strong enough to (play).” asserted
it → get → place
Mayfield, who signed a $165 million, three-year contract extension before the season, hadn’t missed a start since joining the Buccaneers in 2023. asserted
who → sign → 2023
He played through various injuries throughout his career, which began in Cleveland after the Browns selected him with the No. 1 pick in 2018. asserted
Browns → play → 2018
The Buccaneers got off to their worst start since 2014, going 0-3 with Mayfield. asserted
Buccaneers → get → Mayfield
He struggled behind an offensive line that was woeful at the time. asserted
that → struggle → time
He has two touchdown passes and two interceptions, has lost three fumbles and has been sacked 13 times. asserted
He → have → fumbles
Daniels didn’t fare much better but led an impressive win at Dallas on Oct. 8. asserted
Daniels → fare → Oct.
Daniel has three TDs, five picks and a 63.4 rating. asserted
Daniel → have → TDs
“We weren’t doing the little things right,” Mayfield said. asserted
Mayfield → do → things
“Whether it’s guys overthinking. ... asserted
guys → ’ → ?
I don’t think we have dumb guys on this football team. asserted
we → think → team
It’s guys overthinking, just not doing the Day 1 stuff the right way. asserted
guys → ’ → stuff
And so when you have that, guys flying around, you hesitate at quarterback or your eyes are in the right spot quarterback and you’re trusting a guy to be there, you need to understand that you build this system based on timing, the rhythm of your feet, so it’s really important to do that. asserted
it → have → that
Our O-line is playing a lot better, and we need to take advantage of it. asserted
we → play → it
We need to be on the same page.” asserted
We → need → page
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