Barring setbacks, Bucs QB Mayfield expected to start vs. Panthers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is expected to return on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, barring any setbacks this week, ESPN's Jenna Laine reported.

Mayfield has missed three games with a dislocated right thumb suffered in Week 3. He was a full participant in Wednesday's and Thursday's practices, and the team delayed its weekly quarterback media availability to Thursday so he could speak publicly for the first time since the injury.

"I feel very confident in my ability to grip the ball," Mayfield said. The injury caused some tendon and ligament damage but required no surgery, though the dislocation left a wound that needed stitches. With rest, he said, he has reached a point where the thumb is "strong enough to be able to play" and "feels good."

He is practicing in a custom-made glove with a pad on the back of the thumb and metal reinforcement to keep it from bending backward again. The equipment staff consulted the Tampa Bay Rays -- accustomed to similar thumb injuries in baseball -- before settling on the design. After an adjustment period, Mayfield said, "It's just like me wearing a glove."

His main worry is not throwing but the impact of snaps from under center with center Graham Barton. "It feels fine gripping it, throwing it," he said. "It's just that the impact stuff... it's felt great so far."

The original prognosis called for a three-week minimum. Mayfield tried to beat it and targeted last week's game against Pittsburgh, but he said he was not at 100 percent and felt backup Jalon Daniels gave the team a better chance to win.

During his absence, Mayfield mentored Daniels as an "extra voice" between series. "I'm really proud of Jalon," he said of the three starts, which included a prime-time win.

At 1-5, Tampa Bay faces a steep climb, but with only the 3-2 Panthers holding a winning record in the division, it is not out of the race. "Got to take it one game at a time," Mayfield said.