Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback will have to wait another week before he can begin to prove what he is worth to the team. While the star quarterback has noted he is excited to show what he can do this season, head coach Todd Bowles made it clear that he would not be playing in the Bucs’ first preseason game against the New York Jets.
This should not come as a huge surprise to Mayfield, who does not typically play much in the preseason. However, backup quarterback Jake Browning sustained a back injury during the team’s joint practice with the Jets. So, the team could be missing its top quarterbacks in the preseason opener.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Plan to Sit Baker Mayfield in Preseason Opener
GettyBaker Mayfield #6 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Mayfield is entering his fourth preseason with the Bucs. He has 18 career pass attempts and 41 career snaps in the preseason. He had 34 snaps and 15 pass attempts during his first preseason with Tampa Bay.
Then, he had seven snaps and three attempts in his second season. Last year, he did not play at all during the Buccaneers’ preseason. Mayfield started the season hot and started to tail off as he got hurt.
So, the team should not be worried about rust, and should be worried about his health sustaining through the season. That makes it easy to sit Mayfield this week, and it would not be a surprise if Mayfield did not play at all in the preseason.
This was supposed to open the door for Browning, who was with the Cincinnati Bengals during the preseason last year. The team would like to get him adjusted to the new team, and Browning would like to put out quality tape to show other teams he can still play.
With his back injury, it could be a lot of Connor Bazelak and Jalon Daniels.
Two Unknown Buccaneers Quarterbacks Get Great Opportunity in Preseason
Bazelak is entering his second season with Tampa Bay. Last year, the UDFA had 32 attempts for 46 completions. He had one touchdown and no interceptions and averaged 5.7 yards per attempt. This year, he is being pushed by rookie UDFA Jalon Daniels for the spot.
Daniels was signed from Kansas, where he started for the past three seasons. He has been one of the more intriguing players in training camp due to his physical upside. However, there is more to playing quarterback than throwing it far.
The Bucs are going to need to see how he can operate the offense before they can let him climb the depth chart. So, these two were already going to get a big portion of the snaps, as the third quarterback is the position battle to solve.
Now, they might end up splitting the entire game.
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn said he anticipates his starters playing. So, whoever gets the chance to start or play early will be given a great opportunity against a tougher-than-usual opponent for the preseason.
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