It’s all over for Jake Browning even before it started, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have decided to go in a different direction in their attempt to secure a backup quarterback.

Browning had agreed to a one-year deal back in March, and the plans then were very much about keeping the 30-year-old on to serve as a backup to Baker Mayfield. But through training camp, it was undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels who earned the spot. 

Daniels was originally in a battle for the role of the third quarterback with the now-waived Connor Bazelak. It was Daniels’ performances through training camp and preseason games that got him the QB2 role instead. 

Browning signed on as a free agent, and the veteran doesn’t have any waivers to clear, so despite the Bucs ripping up his contract, he could still choose to stay on with the practice squad, albeit a major downgrade from the backup quarterback aspirations he had when he signed for Tampa Bay. 

Browning featured in preseason for the Bucs but only managed 10 completions from 15 attempts with a 66.7 percent completion rate for 86 yards. His longest throw was for 22 yards, but he failed to get a touchdown and was sacked five times. 

In the Buccaneers’ dismal 19-0 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Browning only managed four attempts and completed two passes, while he was sacked twice and only managed to make two yards. 

While the sample size is small, it was enough for the Bucs, who had issues with their backup quarterback last season. When Mayfield went down with a shoulder injury against the Los Angeles Rams, Teddy Bridgewater took over for the latter half of the game. 

The Bucs lost 34-7, and Bridgewater had no impact on the game, finishing with eight completions from 15 attempts for 62 yards and failing to make a touchdown. Bridgewater was also sacked twice. 

That one game made it clear to the Bucs that the backup quarterback will always have far too few minutes, with Baker Mayfield having played almost the entirety of all games in his stint at Tampa Bay. 

So entering the 2026 season, the lookout was for a backup quarterback who can have an impact in whatever little time they get to dictate plays. Which is why they turned to Jalon Daniels to do that job for them this time around. 

Baker Mayfield has been such a reliable figure that the Bucs wouldn’t be expecting more than a few reps throughout the season for whichever quarterback gets a few minutes at the gridiron. 

23-year-old Jalon Daniels brings exactly that to the table. Although he went undrafted, his time at the Kansas Jayhawks was nothing short of remarkable. 

In 45 starts during his time in Kansas, Daniels recorded 9,282 passing yards and 1,445 rushing yards to go with 67 passing touchdowns and 23 rushing touchdowns. Daniels finished as only the second player to surpass 10,000 yards in total offense in Kansas history. 

When Tampa Bay picked him for their rookie camp as an undrafted rookie, Daniels wasn’t even in contention for the second quarterback role. But his performances in the preseason were exactly what the Bucs have been looking for. 

Across the preseason, Daniels racked up 17 completed passes from 29 attempts for 128 yards and one touchdown. He was sacked thrice. Again, a small sample size, but his dual-threat ability is what gave him the nod over the others.

The aim isn’t to bring Daniels as Mayfield’s future replacement, not yet at least. For now, the Bucs’ aim is to have a second quarterback who offers a serious offensive threat if and when Mayfield doesn’t take to the gridiron. 

Is Daniels the right move for the Bucs? That’s a question that can only be answered when he is required to replace Mayfield this season, if at all.