Baker Mayfield has enjoyed a relatively successful season with the Buccaneers, his fourth team in the last two years. But the quarterback was briefly forced out of Sunday’s Week 12 game against the Colts with an injury on a red-zone sneak.
After lofting a big first-down throw to Mike Evans to push Tampa Bay to Indianapolis’ 1-yard line, Mayfield attempted a sneak on first-and-goal, only to remain on the ground after failing to reach the end zone. He appeared to have a leg pinned while in the pile and showed a noticeable limp after walking to the sidelines, replaced by third-year reserve Kyle Trask.
The Buccaneers reported soon afterward that Mayfield suffered an ankle injury, but the QB returned on the next series.
Trask threw a near-pick on his first rep in place of Mayfield but then nearly connected with Chris Godwin for a touchdown in the back of the end zone. The Buccaneers settled for a field goal to go up 3-0 against the Colts on the series.
Before entering Sunday’s contest, Trask, the former 2021 second-round draft pick, had thrown just nine passes in one NFL game.
Mayfield, meanwhile, entered Week 12 with 15 TDs and six picks, plus a 91.5 passer rating, in his Bucs debut.