Ayden Garnes made the loudest statement of the night for Tampa Bay, and he did it the hard way.
In the Buccaneers’ 24-16 preseason win over the New York Jets on Friday night in East Rutherford, N.J., the undrafted rookie defensive back out of Arizona turned a midgame swing into a full-blown momentum shift. His 47-yard interception return for a touchdown tied the game at 10-10 with 8:38 left in the first half and helped flip the tone of a game that had started with Tampa Bay’s defense looking shaky.
The Bucs (1-0) got an extended look at several rookies on both sides of the ball in their first preseason action, including offensive names fans were eager to see in wide receiver Ted Hurst III and quarterback Jalon Daniels. But it was Garnes who delivered the biggest play.
Tampa Bay’s defense gave up 10 points on the Jets’ first two drives before Chase McLaughlin’s 23-yard field goal with 9:59 left in the second quarter cut into the deficit. On the very next Jets possession, Garnes jumped a Bailey Zappe pass on third-and-7 near midfield and took it all the way back for the score.
The rookie’s impact didn’t stop there. On the next offensive snap after the touchdown, Elijah Roberts sacked Zappe.
Then Rashad Wisdom added another takeaway for the defense, intercepting a deflected Zappe pass with 7:45 left in the second quarter. Garnes finished with three total tackles, a tackle for loss and the pick-six.
“We knew he could cover. The biggest thing [was] about missing tackles.
We were worried about-he missed one early … but he came back with a pick,” head coach Todd Bowles said after the game. “He doesn't carry … plays the next play.
He forgets about it like a good corner should do, so he's getting better every week."
Daniels, who was also undrafted, got his first NFL action to open the second half after Connor Bazelak started the game, with Baker Mayfield and Jake Browning sitting out. He wasted little time making an impression.
On Tampa Bay’s first drive of the third quarter, Daniels helped steer a 12-play, 80-yard march that ended with Josh Williams punching in a 12-yard touchdown to give the Buccaneers their first offensive score of the season and the lead for good. Daniels completed four of five passes for 57 yards on that drive.
He added a 1-yard touchdown run with 3:24 remaining and finished 10-of-15 for 111 yards with no interceptions.
Hurst’s first pro outing was quieter, even if the rookie third-round pick out of Georgia State still found himself involved early. He was targeted on Tampa Bay’s first pass of the game, which fell incomplete, then hauled in a 12-yard catch on a third-and-5 during the Buccaneers’ first scoring drive.
Later, he had what would have been his first professional touchdown catch in his hands before the pass was broken up in the second quarter. He ended with two catches for 19 yards.
For Tampa Bay, it was a preseason opener that gave the staff a useful first look at a rookie class that flashed in different ways - and one undrafted defender who stole the spotlight.
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