The Pittsburgh Steelers will face off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6, with both teams dealing with key injuries heading into Sunday's matchup. For the Buccaneers, Baker Mayfield is by far the biggest setback, and Tampa Bay could use him back sooner rather than later. But is a Week 6 return against Pittsburgh plausible? Here's what fans should know.
Mayfield, who suffered a dislocated thumb on his right throwing hand on September 27, was expected to miss three to six weeks as he recovered from his injury. As expected, Mayfield began the Week 6 practice report as a non-participant, casting doubt on a miraculous return against Pittsburgh one week early.
Here is Wednesday's Week 6 injury report for the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Tampa
Bay Buccaneers. 📸 USA Today https://t.co/XcghASwRzO pic.twitter.com/oXVsmdIbEJ
— Steelers Wire (@TheSteelersWire) October 15, 2026
Drafted by the Browns with the first overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Mayfield played four seasons with Cleveland (2018-2021), in addition to brief stints with the Carolina Panthers (2022) and Los Angeles Rams (2022), before joining the Buccaneers in 2023, where he had a career resurgence. Mayfield has appeared in 126 games and made 123 starts over his nine-year NFL career. He has thrown for 29,140 passing yards and 199 touchdowns, as well as earning two Pro Bowl selections.
With Mayfield potentially sidelined, the Buccaneers will call on undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels to make his second career start. Daniels led Tampa Bay to its first win of the season in last week's game against the Dallas Cowboys, but a Steelers team riding the momentum of a huge win over the Indianapolis Colts may be a different story.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Could Baker Mayfield return in Week 6 game vs. Steelers?
