How Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield got help from Tampa Bay Rays on return from thumb injury originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are currently 1-5 in the regular season and are set to face off against the Carolina Panthers in Week 7. It's a huge game to determine if they'll have a chance of making a playoff run this season.
Baker Mayfield is set to come back, which is a huge boost for the Buccaneers. But his return from a thumb injury isn't so simple. With his thumb injury being on his throwing hand, playing quarterback might be a bit tricky. But he recently got some help.
According to Rick Stroud of The Tampa Bay Times, the Tampa Bay Rays actually helped design a new custom glove for Mayfield's right hand leading up to Week 7 to try to help him play without any complications.
Rays helped Baker Mayfield with custom glove amid return from thumb injury
"Baker Mayfield will wear a glove on his right hand with a solid plate on the back to keep his once-dislocated thumb from bending the wrong way when he likely starts Sunday's game at Carolina," Stroud writes.
Helping to make such a glove for Mayfield were the hometown Rays, just about set to face off against the Milwaukee Brewers in MLB's World Series, as the Rays aim for their first-ever championship.
But how did the Rays help make this glove for Mayfield to suit up in Week 7 against the Panthers in a must-win matchup? Well, Stroud revealed the one man whose "invention" will help Mayfield take the field without worry this weekend.
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"The glove was the invention of Rays home clubhouse attendant Nick Bond, who took a receiver's glove and ripped off the thumb while inserting a support," Stroud writes. "They made two versions: one with hard plastic and another as a soft cast."
While the Rays are focused on winning the World Series, Bond was able to help out the city's NFL team by designing a new glove to help Mayfield play through a thumb injury.
Assuming Mayfield suits up in Week 7, as is the expectation heading into Friday, he'll be utilizing a custom glove that the Rays helped to create. While the Buccaneers' vibes might be off, this act by the Rays is a very cool moment of city camaraderie.
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