Daniels beats out Browning, wins backup QB job
An undrafted rookie from Kansas outlasted a veteran the Bucs paid to hold the job, and Todd Bowles isn't hiding how much he likes what he saw.
Daniels' underdog run gets its official stamp
The backup quarterback job is Jalon Daniels', for real now. ESPN reported that the Buccaneers released veteran Jake Browning on cutdown Sunday, closing out a summer where an undrafted rookie who signed for a $25,000 bonus beat a quarterback the team had actually paid to hold the spot behind Baker Mayfield. Daniels finished the preseason completing 61.4% of his throws for 239 yards and a touchdown, adding a rushing score, and Todd Bowles wasn't shy about what he'd watched: "He's shown a lot. He's shown a lot," the coach said after the finale, waving off a rough closing line — 8 of 15 for 57 yards with a fumble — as an operation issue more than a rookie one.
The club's own account leaned into it this week, posting that "Jalon Daniels' underdog story is what sports are all about" — not the kind of line a team spends on a camp arm about to get cut. GM Jason Licht called it an incredible accomplishment for an undrafted rookie, saying he couldn't recall it happening in at least a decade, Yardbarker reports. And the storyline stayed personal into the weekend: Greg Auman of Fox Sports noted Daniels spent his bye weekend back at Kansas, the program that gave the undrafted kid his shot before Tampa Bay did.
Last time out: shut out in the finale, preseason closes 2-1
Tampa Bay closed the preseason 2-1 with a 19-0 loss at Jacksonville on August 28, the one game of the three where the offense never found the end zone. Daniels' rocky final line matched the scoreboard, and the ground game offered no rescue: Sean Tucker, running behind the third-string line, carried five times for 15 yards and turned his only target into a loss. Tez Johnson caught just one of three targets for nine yards, typical of a finale played mostly by men fighting for the bottom of the 53.
Jaguars0-19
Chiefs16-15
Jets24-16The two wins bookending it were the more instructive tape. Tampa Bay opened with a 24-16 win at the Jets on August 14, then survived a 16-15 escape at home over the Chiefs on August 22. Friday in Jacksonville was about who makes Saturday's cutdown, not how the real offense will look now that the games count.
McMillan, Egbuka trending toward the opener as Tucker's status lingers
Wednesday's practice report had two names working off to the side and two more sitting out entirely. Emeka Egbuka (toe) worked on a side field with trainers and ran without any obvious issues, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports, while Jalen McMillan (knee) remained out, per Greg Auman of Fox Sports, even though Bowles has said he expects McMillan back for the opener. Sean Tucker (undisclosed) didn't practice at all Wednesday, Auman adds, one more name to watch with the season nine days out.
Bucs back at it for last practice until next week. Egbuka, McMillan and Skule working on the side. Sean Tucker, Christian Rozeboom not practicing.
The roster kept moving around the edges of that injury list. Cornerback Josh Hayes had a knee procedure that will keep him out for the start of the season, Scott Smith of the team's official site reports, and safety Xavier Williams and linebacker Mohamed Kamara both reverted to injured reserve, per the NFL's transaction log. Tampa Bay restocked that room anyway, claiming Kevin Knowles off waivers from Kansas City, a 23-year-old who logged 231 special-teams snaps and 10 tackles as a rookie last year, Auman reports — a move that cost linebacker Caden Fordham his spot, though both sides expect him back on the practice squad now that the team is back from the long weekend.
Two No. 1 overall picks open the real season against each other
The preseason scrimmaging is over, and Tampa Bay's actual 2026 opens Sunday afternoon in Cincinnati against a Bengals team that ran the table in exhibition play, going 3-0 and closing with a 30-13 win over the Eagles. It also happens to be a matchup of No. 1 overall picks: Baker Mayfield went first in 2018, Joe Burrow first in 2020, and the two will finally share a Week 1 field, per the Bengals' own opponent preview. Cincinnati's offense is still built around Burrow throwing to Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, and after a Grade 3 turf toe injury cost Burrow nine games in 2025, the Bengals are betting on a full, healthy season out of him from the jump.
The number tells the same story as the name recognition: Cincinnati opened as 3.5-point favorites, making the Buccaneers an underdog in the opener, and the total was set at 51.5, a high-scoring read for a game with Burrow, Chase and Higgins on one sideline. Tampa Bay will counter with new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson calling his first regular-season game for the club — Mayfield's fourth coordinator in as many years — and a defense that gets thrown straight into the fire against Cincinnati's vertical passing game. It is a loud way to start a real season after three preseason games nobody will remember by October.