Buccaneers’ quarterback battle ends with a major surprise originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Jalon Daniels entered Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp fighting simply to earn a roster spot. He will leave the preseason as Baker Mayfield’s backup.
The Buccaneers have chosen Daniels, an undrafted rookie out of Kansas, as their No. 2 quarterback to begin the season, a source told NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on Sunday.
The decision represents a significant rise for Daniels, who entered camp behind Mayfield and veteran Jake Browning on Tampa Bay’s depth chart. Browning signed a one-year contract earlier this offseason and appeared positioned to handle backup duties.
Instead, Daniels used training camp and three preseason appearances to change Tampa Bay’s plans.
From $25,000 Signing Bonus to QB2
The Buccaneers are expected to release Browning as part of their moves to reach the 53-player roster limit, according to Rapoport.
Daniels originally signed with Tampa Bay as an undrafted free agent on a deal that included a $25,000 signing bonus. He completed 61.4% of his preseason passes for 239 yards and one touchdown while adding 37 rushing yards and another score.
His preseason wasn’t flawless.
Daniels started Tampa Bay’s 19-0 preseason-finale loss to Jacksonville and completed 8 of 15 passes for 57 yards while losing a fumble. But the Buccaneers’ evaluation went beyond one performance.
“He’s shown a lot. He’s shown a lot,” coach Todd Bowles said following the game. “We’re going to go back and evaluate the film.”
Bowles emphasized that Tampa Bay was evaluating Daniels’ command of the entire offense rather than simply looking at completion numbers.
“It’s the overall operation to make sure he’s fine with that,” Bowles said.
Tampa Bay will also waive running back Josh Williams, a source told ESPN. Williams rushed for 57 yards and a touchdown on 18 preseason carries while competing for the No. 3 running back position.
But Daniels emerges as one of the Buccaneers’ biggest preseason success stories.
He arrived as an undrafted long shot.
Now he’s one injury away from leading Tampa Bay’s offense.
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