BakerMayfield

News: 1 day agoMayfield won't play in Saturday's preseason game against Buffalo, WDAE Radio's Rock Riley reports.

Spin: The Buccaneers used some starters in their second preseason game, but Mayfield wasn't one of them. They'll start Kyle Trask at QB this Saturday, followed by Teddy Bridgewater, allowing the two to continue their competition for the backup QB job. Mayfield, meanwhile, will be on the sideline to keep him healthy ahead of a Week 1 game at Atlanta. The Buccaneers may not have WR Chris Godwin (ankle), WR Jalen McMillan (neck) or LT Tristan Wirfs (knee) available for the contest, but they seem confident in first-round pick Emeka Egbuka stepping up to replace Godwin/McMillan, at least.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Mayfield may have enjoyed his career renaissance in 2023, but he had his fantasy breakout in 2024. After finishing 18th or worse in fantasy PPG during each of his first six NFL seasons, Mayfield leapt to fourth in 2024. He finished no lower than fifth in pass attempts, completions, yards and TDs, while also easily posting a career high in rush yards. Mayfield completed 71% of his passes (third best) despite missing Chris Godwin and Mike Evans for chunks of the season, and he may be in even better shape in 2025 with Evans back, Godwin hopefully healthy and youngsters Emeka Egbuka and Jalen McMillan also in the mix. Mayfield benefits from a Bucs offense that has scored a league-high 76.6% of its TDs through the air since Todd Bowles became head coach in 2022. With consecutive seasons of good play under his belt, the 30-year-old is well positioned for another solid QB1 fantasy campaign.