Buccaneers name undrafted rookie QB as Baker Mayfield’s backup

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Buccaneers name undrafted rookie QB as Baker Mayfield’s backup

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Aug 30, 2026 11:29 AM ET

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going with an undrafted rookie as the backup quarterback to Baker Mayfield.

The Buccaneers are moving ahead with Jalon Daniels as their No. 2 quarterback after releasing Jake Browning, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Daniels got the gig after surprising during preseason.

The #Bucs signed Jalon Daniels, UDFA out of Kansas, and gave him a signing bonus of $25K. Now, he's their backup QB. And he's earned it. https://t.co/rpig48rlTc
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 30, 2026

Daniels got a $25,000 signing bonus as an undrafted free agent and was not expected to surpass Browning to win the backup job. However, the rookie ran the offense impressively and threw for 239 yards with two total touchdowns in the team’s three preseason games. By comparison, Browning only threw for 86 yards on his 15 attempts.

Mayfield has been very durable since joining the Buccaneers, and has played in all 17 games in each of the last three seasons. Tampa Bay will hope Daniels does not need to see the field, but keeping him as the insurance policy is certainly a risk.

The Buccaneers had signed Browning to a one-year deal during the offseason with the expectation that he would be Mayfield’s backup. He probably will not forget about this if he ever gets the chance to face the Bucs in the future.

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