John Romano: Yes, the Buccaneers could use three QBs and, no, Jalon Daniels isn't No. 2

John Romano, Tampa Bay Times on Aug 24, 2026

Published in Football

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TAMPA, Fla. — Let’s not go overboard on Jalon Daniels. Two preseason games do not reflect reality.

On the other hand, get this guy a locker!

That’s what the Bucs should do this week. Find a happy medium when it comes to the breakout star of training camp.

Everybody is asking the same two questions, but they don’t need to be answered simultaneously.

Should Daniels be Tampa Bay’s top backup?

That’s a question for down the road.

Should the Bucs carry three quarterbacks on the active roster?

That’s a question that Daniels has already answered.

Heck yeah, Daniels needs to stick around. And that likely means the Bucs will carry three quarterbacks because sneaking Daniels onto the practice squad carries a risk. Unless general manager Jason Licht is 99% convinced that he can slip Daniels through waivers on his way to the practice squad, it’s worth reserving the 53rd spot on the roster for the undrafted rookie.

Daniels has shown enough skill on the field and enough poise off the field for the Bucs to wonder if they didn’t come up with a steal when Daniels went undrafted out of Kansas. Every other team with an internet connection has seen the same video of Daniels rallying Tampa Bay to consecutive comeback victories against the Jets and Chiefs. Do you want to take the chance that Tampa Bay’s diamond-in-the-rough ends up winning games while wearing some other uniform?

“He played well two weeks in a row,” head coach Todd Bowles said Sunday morning. “He’s calm out there. He’s poised. He makes plays to win the game and, you know, those guys believe in him.”

Still, maybe we’re making too much of 29 preseason passes and a handful of freakish escapes from the pocket. I mean, it’s entirely possible we’re overreacting. Do I need to remind everyone that we once collectively fell in love with Bruce Gradkowski after a pair of preseason games?

But the cost of keeping Daniels is not terribly high. I know, I know, every roster spot is precious. There’s special teams reps to worry about. And how could the Bucs possibly survive without a backup to the backup at inside linebacker? But as recently as 2021-22, the Bucs carried three quarterbacks on the roster.

And if they could make room for Kyle Trask on a team coming off a Super Bowl victory, then I’m sure the Bucs could survive with Daniels taking up a roster spot.

Now, whether Daniels should leapfrog Jake Browning as the No. 2 QB is a different story.

For all the energy he has brought to the offense, Daniels is definitely a work in progress. While he’s posted a 91.0 passer rating and rushed for 28 yards with a touchdown, this was mostly done against players who will never see an NFL regular-season game. And Daniels hasn’t seen a defensive coordinator in gameday mode.

While Browning isn’t anyone’s idea of a savior, he does have extensive NFL experience. Daniels’ pro career is about four months old. When Browning entered the league, Daniels was still going to proms.

Browning, 30, spent parts of two seasons on Minnesota’s practice squad behind Kirk Cousins, and another two seasons on Cincinnati’s practice squad behind Joe Burrow. That was even before three seasons as the Bengals No. 2 quarterback, which included 10 starts. He’s been in the league long enough that he’s seen his share of sparkling preseason performances, and yet he’s survived to earn a lot of paychecks despite entering the league with little to no hype.

There were 10 quarterbacks drafted in 2019 while Browning had his nose pressed against the NFL window. And yet he has outlasted and outperformed a half-dozen of those other quarterbacks.

“I’m a (undrafted free agent) going into my eighth year. I’ve been in competition every single year,” Browning said. “Whether you think it’s a competition or not, you’re competing with a lot of quarterbacks that aren’t even on this team. I think that just kind of comes with the territory. I’m not unfamiliar with competition but it’s also not my job to worry about that stuff.”

To put too much faith into semi-real games could be dangerous for a team that fancies itself as a contender. So if Baker Mayfield gets hurt in Week 1 or 2 or anytime when the Bucs are still in contention for a postseason spot, it makes a lot more sense for Browning to step into the huddle.

Now, should the Bucs have a worse record than expected, that’s a different story. If the stakes aren’t as high, it’d be good to see what Daniels can do when the scoreboard actually matters.

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