The Buccaneers left MetLife Stadium with a 24-16 preseason win over the New York Jets on Friday night, but the bigger takeaway had nothing to do with the final score. For Tampa Bay, this was about getting a live look at a few roster battles, and the quarterback depth chart is one of the clearest ones still taking shape.
Connor Bazelak entered camp as the No. 3 quarterback behind Baker Mayfield and Jake Browning, and he got the first shot against the Jets, starting and handling the entire first half. But the player who made the strongest push for the QB3 job was the one who had to wait.
Jalon Daniels, the undrafted rookie from Kansas, took over for the final 30 minutes and looked like he belonged from the jump. He finished with 10 completions on 15 attempts for 111 yards, added nine rushing yards, and scored once on the ground. In four drives, he kept stacking good snaps and gave Tampa Bay the kind of clean, composed showing coaches want from a young quarterback trying to climb the depth chart.
“When you’re waiting that first half, you’re excited to go out there, and you kind of got to channel your emotions that you already have to be ready to go out there,” Daniels said after the game. “Then, when the second half came, I was just like, ‘Take that deep breath, breathe in, breathe out, and, at this point, you’re going out there and playing football.’
You can’t really look at it as anything different but the game I’ve been playing since I was 7 years old. I think that allowed me to be able to go out there comfortably and go out there and play confidently.”
His best moment came on a 16-play drive that ended with a 1-yard sneak for a touchdown, stretching Tampa Bay’s lead to eight. Daniels also helped the Buccaneers burn 6:24 off the fourth-quarter clock while going 65 yards, the sort of steady finish head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Jason Licht want to see from the 23-year-old, who went unselected in all seven rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Wearing No. 10, Daniels played with a calm edge and looked intent on making the QB3 job his own.
“I thought he was very poised,” Bowles said. “He went in relaxed, and we knew he could make off scheduled plays out of the pocket, but he played very confident in the pocket, made the right reads, he zipped some throws. I thought he played really well.”
Daniels has always been known for his dual-threat ability, but this was a strong first NFL showing because he did damage from the pocket, too. One of the most eye-catching throws of the night came on his third pass attempt, a 35-yard completion to wide receiver Garrett Greene. That drive covered 12 plays and finished with a 12-yard rushing touchdown by Josh Williams.
“It was huge. It means he was learning the offense,” Bowles said of Daniels’ poise in the pocket.
“He took what they gave him, he didn’t try to get out of there too fast, and he was calm under pressure. He let the system work for him as opposed to trying to make a play and be seen.”
The throw to Greene was the kind of aggressive, confident play that stands out in preseason football. Daniels fit it into a tight window, read the coverage correctly, and didn’t look rattled by the moment.
Bazelak’s night, meanwhile, was uneven. He completed 12 of 20 passes for 72 yards, and while he was working against the Jets’ first-string defense, the Buccaneers still had trouble sustaining drives with him.
They punted on four of five possessions, including three three-and-outs. Bowles still pointed to some positives.
“He’d like to have some throws back, but I thought he was poised in the pocket as well,” Bowles said. “He made some throws, and he got us down the field.
We just couldn’t cash in a little bit, but he got us down in the red zone, and it wasn’t too big for him. They zeroed him out a few times, and he was very cool, collected that way.
So, I thought he managed the game pretty good.”
Nothing is decided yet. This was only the first of three preseason games, and both quarterbacks will get more chances to make their case. But after the opener, Daniels clearly made the louder statement.
“You live in the moment,” Daniels said. “Truly being able to take in every single second of it, not looking at it as something that is too big because like I said, I dreamed of this opportunity since I was a child. Being able to go out there and be able to play NFL football… it’s a dream come true.”
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