Undrafted Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Jalon Daniels started 8-for-8 against the Dallas Cowboys and quickly had fans wondering whether the team's future at quarterback should still be Baker Mayfield
Jalon Daniels takes the field
Bucs QB Jalon Daniels impressed fans over Baker Mayfield against the Dallas Cowboys
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Jalon Daniels was initially seen only as a way to keep the Tampa Bay Buccaneers afloat while Baker Mayfield recovers from a dislocated thumb expected to keep him out for six weeks, but the rookie's Thursday Night Football start has fans wondering whether the Buccaneers stumbled into their next star.
Daniels started Thursday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys by hitting every target, going 8-for-8 for 49 yards and a touchdown before the second quarter began. The undrafted QB played college ball at Kansas from 2020 to 2025.
He tucked and ran twice for 11 more yards to help Tampa Bay claw back to 7-7. The rookie finished a 15-play, 68-yard drive by rifling a five-yard touchdown to Bucky Irving in the right flat.
Tampa Bay kept every third down alive on that drive. Daniels dodged a sack and refused to force anything deep.
He finally threw an incompletion on a short pass to tight end Cade Otton during his first drive of the second quarter. Buccaneers fans saw enough and already noted that Daniels could make throws Mayfield simply cannot.
They also saw his play as proof that Tampa Bay finally had a young quarterback worth developing after Kyle Trask, the team's last QB taken in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
More to come on this story...