Sources - Baker Mayfield return hinges on when QB can grip football - ESPN

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles says Baker Mayfield will miss at least three weeks due to his dislocated right thumb, but that is the minimum.

There is a flipside scenario as well.

Sources told ESPN that Mayfield is dealing with a dislocated thumb that is expected to sideline the star quarterback anywhere from three to six weeks, depending on how quickly he is able to grip the football.

At this point, it's hard to predict when that will be, but three weeks without Mayfield is the Bucs' best hope.

Mayfield underwent an MRI on Monday that showed no additional damage — to either the thumb ligament or tendon — beyond the dislocation, according to sources. Bowles said at the time that the injury should not require surgery, but the two-time Pro Bowler did get stitches to close the wound from the dislocation. Those stitches are expected to be removed soon.

The Buccaneers did not place Mayfield on injured reserve Saturday, and they do not think their quarterback will need to be added to IR, even if the injury does sideline him longer than four weeks, according to sources.

For the time being, the Bucs are willing to gamble that Mayfield's absence is closer to three games rather than the five to six games that they privately have worried about.

The organization also believes in Mayfield's replacement, undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels, who will become the first rookie quarterback this season to start a game.

None of the 10 rookie quarterbacks drafted this year — Fernando Mendoza, Ty Simpson, Carson Beck, Drew Allar, Cade Klubnik, Cole Payton, Taylen Green, Athan Kaliakmanis, Behren Morton, Garrett Nussmeier — have started a game entering Week 4.

After Daniels went undrafted, the Buccaneers signed him to a deal that