Lavonte David: Injuries Took Toll on Baker Mayfield

Tampa Bay Buccaneers  quarterback Baker Mayfield started all 17 games last season, but he wasn't healthy, and one of Mayfield's former teammates went into detail about everything the star QB was dealing with. "Baker was going through a lot," the recently retired Lavonte David said Friday on "The Arena" podcast. "Baker had a lot of injuries that you didn’t expect a quarterback to play through.

" The former Bucs linebacker and 12-year captain on defense ticked off Mayfield's infirmities during last season -- an oblique injury, a shoulder injury, an ankle and knee injuries. "He was really trying to push through, and really trying to be the player that we needed him to be. " Most of what David said was known, but the ankle injury had not previously been reported.

Injury reports released throughout the season indicate Mayfield also had a lingering biceps injury, foot and toe issues early in September, and an undisclosed illness in mid-November that reportedly made its way through the locker room. Ahead of the team's season finale against the Carolina Panthers at home, Mayfield appeared on the team's injury report with a right shoulder/knee injury, but he powered through to lead the team to a win. Those weren't the only problems Mayfield had in 2025.

In training camp, Mayfield dealt with a hand injury. Mayfield's injury history in the NFL predates his time in Tampa. In Mayfield's last season with the Cleveland Browns in 2021, he tore the labrum in his left shoulder in Week 2, kept playing, and then fractured his upper arm bone in Week 6.