Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield says he played last season with a sprained knee MCL and PCL

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is opening a new window on last season’s health picture, describing a knee problem he says he was managing while continuing to play. On Netflix’s “Quarterback,” Mayfield revealed that he played through a sprained MCL and PCL in his knee that dated back to Week 2. The disclosure reframes how the season looked from the outside, because the specific ligament details were not widely reported at the time in the way they are now being presented.

The MCL and PCL are major stabilizing ligaments, with the MCL running along the inner side of the knee and the PCL located deeper toward the back of the joint. Ligament sprains can affect cutting, lateral movement, and the ability to plant and drive off one leg, especially for a quarterback who relies on footwork under pressure and during designed runs or scrambles. Mayfield’s account suggests the injury was not a brief flare-up, but something he carried for much of the season after it appeared.

Mayfield also addressed how his performance shifted as his third year as Tampa Bay’s starting quarterback unfolded. According to Yahoo Sports’ report on the docuseries segment, his play declined in his third season with the Buccaneers, and the new injury detail is offered as one of the reasons he felt hampered. In that framing, the knee issue becomes part of the context for why the season did not match earlier expectations.

Because the information comes through a documentary reveal, it functions more as a retrospective explanation than as a formal injury report. That matters, since the timing of a disclosure does not necessarily change what coaches and medical staffs could confirm during the season. Still, the key point from Mayfield’s comments is that he was dealing with a sprained inner and posterior knee-ligament combination starting in Week 2, which he says he worked through rather than shutting down.

For Tampa Bay, the implications are practical and immediate. Quarterback durability shapes how the Buccaneers can build an offense around the passer and how they structure play design, protection, and backup usage. Even if Mayfield’s offseason timetable and readiness are not detailed in the Yahoo account, ligament injuries that linger into a season can leave a lasting question: whether the quarterback can return to full athletic speed without compensating elsewhere.

The bigger NFL storyline is that quarterback injuries are often discussed publicly at a broad level, while the internal medical picture is rarely fully visible. Mayfield’s disclosure highlights the gap between what fans see and what players experience day to day, especially when a franchise quarterback remains on the field. It also sets up what to watch next: whether Tampa Bay’s training camp and preseason work (including his mobility and how much he can move within the pocket) reflects a full return to form after managing the sprained MCL and PCL during the season.