Four dream trade packages ahead of Oct. 31 deadline | ‘NFL Total Access’
NFL Network’s Kimmi Chex, Mike Yam, David Carr and Shaun O’Hara imagine potential trades ahead of the Oct. 31 deadline that involve the following veterans: Denver Broncos WR Jerry Jeudy, Denver Broncos CB Patrick Surtain II, Indianapolis Colts RB Zack Moss and Carolina Panthers LB Frankie Luvu.
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Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield believes offense is ‘close’ to turnaround: ‘We haven’t played our best’
Dealing with a dinged-up knee and some soreness, Baker Mayfield appears to be good to go for Thursday night.
Whether or not a healthy Buccaneers offense will be in place is the top talking point for Tampa Bay ahead of its Week 8 matchup against the host Buffalo Bills.
Tampa’s lost three of its last four with each of the defeats accompanied by 13 or fewer points scored – such as was the case in a 16-13 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
As Mayfield is starting for his fourth team in three seasons, he’s no stranger to adversity or the topsy-turvy NFL world. Thusly, he’s optimistic the Buccaneers can steer their ship through these currently choppy waters.
“I think with any of those experiences you learn how to weather some of these storms, and you learn how to grow through them and handle them when certain situations come,” Mayfield said Tuesday, via team transcript. “For right now – like we keep mentioning – just get our stuff fixed, be more detailed, fundamentally sound and good things will happen. When you re-watch the losses, we’ve played good teams, but we haven’t played our best. So, for us, it’s about us playing our best ball and focusing on what we can control and that’s being fundamentally sound and doing our jobs.”
While Mayfield and the offense are still looking to remedy their ills, his knee injury had him limited in practice Tuesday, a day after he was listed as not practicing for a walk-through.
“Yesterday I was pretty sore,” Mayfield said. “Less than 24 hours after the game, that’s kind of how it always goes. I just kind of re-aggravated what I did against the Saints. Nothing too bad, just pain tolerance and move on.”
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday that Mayfield was dealing with some soreness and it wasn’t considered major. It seems to be just that.
Nonetheless, it’s lingering just as the Buccaneers’ offensive issues are. Tampa is 23rd in the NFL in offense, with little balance as the passing game is 15th in the league in comparison to a 29th-ranked rushing attack. Furthermore, Tampa’s 37.5 red zone scoring percentage is 28th in the league.
