Baker Mayfield is entering his fourth season as the Buccaneers’ starting quarterback. The sides will reassess this setup after the season. While the Mayfield situation is effectively on hold, an interesting competition has transpired regarding Tampa Bay’s backup quarterback.
Tonight’s Bucs preseason finale may well determine how the team plans to arrange its depth chart at the game’s signature position. The Bucs will use rookie UDFA Jalon Daniels as their starter against the Jaguars. Tampa Bay appears to be taking a long look at an unlikely QB2 option.
Daniels is expected to play the entire first half, per the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud. That could be interpreted as a protection measure for Jake Browning, but the Bucs intend to use the more experienced backup option later in the game. Browning and Connor Bazelak will see time later, Stroud notes, adding Daniels has a real chance to be Mayfield’s top backup entering the season.
This would be a surprising development considering Daniels’ undrafted status, but ESPN.com’s Jenna Laine indicated this week the Kansas product leapfrogging Browning is probably in play. Daniels took several QB2 snaps over Browning in the Bucs’ joint practice against the Jags on Wednesday, Fox Sports’ Greg Auman adds.
The obvious question here would be Daniels’ capabilities to run an NFL offense as a rookie UDFA compared to a player who has made 10 career starts. That said, Browning’s woeful work with the Bengals last season prompted the team to explore many QB trade options before settling on Joe Flacco — who replaced Browning days after being acquired last October.
Daniels’ $273K guarantee is notable here, as Browning signed for just $400K guaranteed this offseason. The Daniels number is on the high end for a rookie UDFA, highlighting organizational interest in giving the six-year Jayhawk an extended opportunity to make the roster — as a third-stringer at the very least. Daniels may have impressed to the point the Bucs will not chance passing him through waivers to their practice squad. Laine’s roster prediction includes Daniels and Browning; the latter would not need to pass through waivers as a vested veteran.
Through two preseason games, Daniels is 19-for-29 with 182 passing yards and a touchdown. He has 10 carries for 28 yards and a score. At Kansas, Daniels saw action from 2020-25. The dual-threat passer never notched a 2,600-yard passing season or a 500-yard rushing campaign, though he is certainly one of the most accomplished players in the Big 12 program’s history.
Daniels impressed as a starter in 2022 and ’25, in particular. After posting an 18:4 TD-INT ratio in 2022, Daniels suffered a back injury that ended his 2023 season early. He returned to claim the Jayhawks’ starting job in 2024 and threw a career-high 22 touchdown passes and reached 2,531 passing yards — to go with 404 on the ground — last season.
Browning, 30, fared much better in Joe Burrow relief in 2023 than he did last year. The Bucs re-signed Bazelak in March, keeping the former UDFA after carrying him on their practice squad last season. It is worth wondering if the Bucs would consider an outside hire to man the backup gig, as Browning has clearly not seized it, rather than go with a rookie UDFA behind Mayfield. For now, though, a Mayfield-Daniels depth chart is a real possibility.
Elsewhere on the Bucs’ roster, inside linebacker Josiah Trotter has earned a starting job. The second-round pick will start alongside FA pickup Alex Anzalone, Laine adds. This is not especially surprising given Trotter’s draft pedigree (46th overall) and All-SEC first-team status at age 20 last season. The Bucs will send out two new ILB starters after Lavonte David‘s retirement. Trotter is set to play over prior starter SirVocea Dennis and FA addition Christian Rozeboom.
