Baker Mayfield diagnosed with a low-grade sprain, could play Sunday

It's been a rough month for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

When the season started, everything was going their way. Baker Mayfield was a frontrunner for MVP, and the team was stomping its way to another NFC South title.

However, four losses in their last five games have pushed them to their limit. Mayfield has dropped out of the MVP race and left Sunday's primetime game against the Los Angeles Rams with what looked like a serious shoulder injury on his non-throwing arm.

Fortunately for the Bucs, they have dodged a bullet on this one, as Mayfield reportedly has a diagnosis of a low-grade sprain to his left shoulder.

Mayfield injured his shoulder during the game while escaping the pocket to burst for a long run to get his team a needed first down. After falling behind by three scores and time ticking down in the first half, Mayfield attempted a Hail Mary from his own territory, falling onto the ground in visible pain as L.A.'s Emmanuel Forbes Jr. intercepted the ball at the 20-yard line.

The Buccaneers play on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, in a now-much-needed game after Tampa Bay's stumble and the Carolina Panthers' rise in the division. A mild shoulder sprain heals within one to three weeks, but with it being on his non-throwing arm, Mayfield may grit it out to play this weekend at home.

Mayfield and the Buccaneers will be watching Monday Night Football tonight as the Panthers look to take the lead in the NFC South in a playoff-implicated matchup with the San Francisco 49ers.

This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: Baker Mayfield diagnosed with a low-grade sprain, could play Sunday