The Buccaneers just made one of the more brutal roster calls of final cutdown weekend. Jake Browning, brought in to be Baker Mayfield's insurance policy, is out. Jalon Daniels, a $25,000 undrafted free agent out of Kansas, is in.
Sources: The #Bucs are moving forward with UDFA QB Jalon Daniels as their backup QB to Baker Mayfield, as he’s impressed throughout camp. A true find and a very cool story.
Ian Rapoport broke the news that Tampa Bay is moving forward with Daniels as its backup, calling it "a true find and a very cool story." Adam Schefter confirmed the other half of it minutes later — Browning is being released.
Buccaneers are releasing veteran QB Jake Browning, per source.
This wasn't close by the end. Daniels went 19-of-29 for 182 yards and a passing touchdown in preseason action, adding a rushing score on top of it, and the Bucs simply liked what they saw more than they liked Browning's résumé. Greg Auman noted Tampa Bay is now down to just Mayfield and Daniels under contract at quarterback, which tells you how firmly the front office is committing to the rookie over a bring-back plan.
Bucs going all in on rookie Jalon Daniels -- he and Mayfield are the only QBs under contract with decision to move on from Jake Browning. Browning's deal included $400k in guaranteed salary.
Browning's college and NFL path was never conventional to begin with — he didn't enter the league until age 27 and only became a known name after a strong stretch as Cincinnati's fill-in starter. He's 30 now, and per Auman's reporting his Bucs deal included $400,000 in guaranteed salary, money the team is eating to move on. Joe Schad, who covered Browning's rise in Cincinnati, framed him as a guy who always looked like a solid long-term NFL backup — which makes losing this job to a UDFA sting a little more.
Daniels' path here is the wilder story. At Kansas he was one of the most talented dual-threat quarterbacks in the country when healthy, finishing his college career second in program history in passing yards and touchdowns — but he was never healthy for long, missing chunks of seasons to shoulder, back and knee injuries. That durability question is exactly why he went undrafted and had to sign for a modest bonus instead of hearing his name called in April.
Now he's leapfrogged a veteran and locked down a real NFL backup job behind a starting quarterback with a track record. It's a genuine underdog story, and it puts real pressure on Daniels the moment Mayfield needs a series off — Tampa Bay has removed its safety net and bet on upside instead.