Everyone knew Baker Mayfield was playing hurt during the 2025 season. What no one knew was just how much damage his body had taken.
When fans and reporters noticed him battered after games and throughout the practice week, Tampa Bay’s signal-caller brushed it off and largely ignored what the injury report said. However, the nature of his injuries was revealed in season three of Netflix’s Quarterback series, which went live on the streaming platform on Tuesday.
Baker Mayfield First Suffered Multiple Injuries In Week 2
The Bucs 2025 season was one defined by injuries, with just about every key player missing significant time dealing with ailments. How Baker Mayfield managed to play through his is an impressive feat, as he missed just one half of football against the Rams in Week 12.
Still, Mayfield battled injuries from the start, as in Week 2 against the Texans he scrambled outside the pocket and looked noticeably hurt picking up the first down after being tackled from behind.
When Baker Mayfield suffered his knee injury in Bucs’ Week 2 win at Houston 👇
He suffered an MCL & PCL sprain AND a bone bruise that bothered him the rest of 2025.
Then he had a right biceps bruise vs. the Jets in Week 3, followed by a left shoulder injury at LA in Week 13.… pic.twitter.com/jVe5VhoOel
— PewterReport 🏴☠️ (@PewterReport) July 14, 2026
He had no time to sit on the ground, not with safety (and longtime rival) C.J. Gardner-Johnson hovering over him and starting to trash talk.
“I was banged up,” Mayfield said. “Sprained my MCL, bone bruise, obviously I didn’t know that at the time. Not feeling great, then I hear [get your bitch ass up]. Pop up, adrenaline kicks in, you forget that you’re hurt. I had to let him know that it doesn’t matter if I’m 100% or 50%, you can still get it anywhere.”
The series also revealed that Mayfield suffered a PCL sprain, and things only got worse the following week when he sustained a right biceps bruise against the Jets after taking a hit to his throwing arm. He played with it covered up, but when he showcased his bruised arm, it elicited quite the response from wide receivers Sterling Shepard and Mike Evans.
Mayfield admitted that he did not know how he was going to play, as he stated that his arm was “weak” and “dead” after throwing just three passes in a practice session that week.
Baker Mayfield Had Several Injuries Throughout The 2025 Season
The injury reports told part of the story, but they hardly captured everything Baker Mayfield was dealing with.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: IMAGN Images
Week 3: foot/toe
Week 4: right biceps
Week 5: knee/right biceps
Week 8: knee/oblique
Week 10: knee/oblique
Week 12: illness
Week 13: left shoulder
Week 14: left shoulder
Week 15: left shoulder
Week 18: right shoulder/knee
Fox Sports’ Greg Auman noted that he had eight different injuries mentioned on injury reports for 10 of 18 weeks. It only kept him out of two entire practices and made him limited for nine more. Taken together, it is wild to think that Mayfield missed only one half all season.
He played through the MCL and PCL sprain all season, and then the bone bruise was re-aggravated during a Week 7 loss to the Lions. Post-bye week, he had an illness going into the Rams game and left the contest with a left shoulder sprain that would linger for several weeks.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/PR
Mayfield’s toughness has long defined his career. In 2021 with the Browns, he famously played through a partially torn labrum suffered — coincidentally — in Week 2 against the Texans. Like last season, his performance declined as the injuries mounted, but he never considered shutting it down.
Given the pressure that it came in a season where he was playing for another contract, he fought through it even as his play faltered.
Sound familiar?
Mayfield last year had a season of two halves, as he went from being an MVP candidate through nine games to playing like one of the worst quarterbacks in the league as injuries caught up to him during the final stretch:
Baker Mayfield through Weeks 1-10: Nine starts (6-3 record), 2,192 yards, 64.2% completion percentage, 16 touchdowns, two interceptions
Baker Mayfield through Weeks 11-18: Eight starts (2-6 record), 1,501 yards, 61.9% completion percentage, 10 touchdowns, nine interceptions
It feels like another prove-it year for Mayfield all over again as he seeks another long-term deal from the Bucs. Set to be a free agent after the 2026 season, expectations are high for him to perform and get back to his previous level of play.
The Quarterback series showcases just how remarkable Baker Mayfield’s ability to persevere through pain really is — and perhaps explains why his performance dipped so dramatically over the final two months of last season.