Bucs Clips
There were 10 quarterbacks selected in the 2026 draft, but the first rookie quarterback to start a game during the 2026 season will not be part of that group.
Baker Mayfield’s dislocated thumb has put Jalon Daniels in line to start for the Buccaneers against the Packers on Sunday. Daniels was not selected after spending six years and appearing in 49 games at Kansas, but he beat out Jake Browning for the backup job this summer and will now get a chance to run an NFL offense before any of his peers.
On Wednesday, Daniels said Mayfield advised him to “just stay composed, play as yourself, don’t try to be anybody else besides yourself” once he is out on the field and Daniels said his time at Kansas has taught him that he has to be proactive rather than reactive.
“I think that one thing I learned in college was, you can’t be the thermometer, you have to be the thermostat,” Daniels said, via a transcript from the team. “You have to be someone who comes in and is able to set the temperature of the room, not test the room and try to be able to blend in with it. If a team is low, I have to be able to pick it up to be able to make sure that they’re even. If we’re high, then I have to be able to be low to be able to make sure that we’re even. I try to be as even-keel as possible. I think that being able to go out there and have that even-keeled feel, the team around you feels that.”
An 0-3 start has led to a lot of talk about hot seats in Tampa, so the best thing Daniels could do in his first start is cool things down by helping the team win a game. That’s a big ask, but so is going from undrafted to starting a game a month into your rookie season and Daniels has already pulled that off.
The Buccaneers know they won’t have quarterback Baker Mayfield against the Packers this Sunday and they were missing a number of other players at practice on Wednesday.
Wide receiver Chris Godwin sat out with an ankle injury. Godwin has 10 catches for 111 yards so far this season. His absence comes a day after the Bucs placed wideout Jalen McMillan on injured reserve.
Two of the team’s top pass rushers were also on the sideline. Yaya Diaby (calf, shoulder) and Rueben Bain (groin, shoulder) were both listed as out on the first injury report of the week. Bain did not play in last Sunday’s loss to the Vikings.
Tight end Ko Kieft (elbow), defensive tackle Rakeem Nuñez-Roches (ankle, foot), and cornerback Jacob Parrish (personal) also missed practice. Linebacker SirVocea Dennis (calf), running back Bucky Irving (glute), defensive back Keionte Scott (toe), and linebacker Josiah Trotter (shoulder) were limited participants.
Tampa Bay has announced a series of roster moves on Wednesday morning.
The Buccaneers have placed receiver Jalen McMillan on injured reserve after he suffered a knee injury during Sunday’s loss to the Vikings. McMillan is reportedly expected to be out for 6-to-8 weeks.
After catching 37 passes for 461 yards with eight touchdowns as a rookie in 2024, McMillan has been limited to just six games over the last two seasons due to injury.
Additionally, Tampa Bay announced the previously reported moves of signing safety Ifeatu Melifonwu to the 53-man roster off of the club’s practice squad and signing quarterback Brett Rypien to the practice squad.
Jalon Daniels is expected to start at QB with Baker Mayfield sidelined for at least three weeks with a dislocated right thumb. Rypien joins Easton Stick on the practice squad.
The Buccaneers are signing quarterback Brett Rypien to their practice squad, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Rypien visited the Bucs on Tuesday.
The team won’t have Baker Mayfield for a minimum of three weeks as he recovers from a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand. Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels will start Sunday against the Packers.
The Bucs are expected to sign Easton Stick to the 53-player roster to serve as Daniels’ backup.
Rypien, the nephew of Super Bowl XXVI MVP Mark Rypien, was with the Rams in 2023 when Bucs offensive coordinator Zac Robinson was the quarterbacks coach.
Rypien has been with nine other NFL teams and has appeared in games with the Broncos, Rams and Bengals. He has played 11 games, going 2-2 as a starter.
The Buccaneers have brought one of their key special teams players to the active roster.
Tampa Bay has signed Ifeatu Melifonwu to the 53-man roster from the club’s practice squad.
Melifonwu has appeared in all three games for the Bucs so far as a practice squad elevation. He has been on the field for 54 percent of the team’s special teams snaps.
A Lions third-round pick in 2021, Melifonwu has appeared in 56 games with 22 starts for Detroit, Miami, and Tampa Bay.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield’s dislocated thumb was the headline news for the Buccaneers on the injury front in Week 3, but he isn’t the only offensive player set to miss time.
Wide receiver Jalen McMillan left Tampa’s 23-16 loss to the Vikings with a left knee injury. Per multiple reports, McMillan will miss 6-8 weeks after suffering a PCL injury.
McMillan initially hurt his knee over the summer and this is an aggravation of the previous injury.
McMillan had eight touchdown catches as a rookie in 2024, but he was limited to four games by a neck injury last year and hopes that he’d return to an impactful role in the offense this year have taken a major hit.
There is more clarity on Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield after he suffered a dislocated thumb late in Sunday’s loss to the Vikings.
Head coach Todd Bowles told reporters in his Monday press conference that Mayfield will be out for a minimum of three weeks.
“It’s consistent with everything we thought it was — a dislocation,” Bowles said.
According to multiple reporters on the Bucs beat, further tests on Mayfield’s thumb did not reveal a fracture or ligament damage.
With the current timetable, the Buccaneers are not planning on placing Mayfield on injured reserve right now. But that could change. If the Bucs were to put Mayfield on IR, he’d be out for a minimum of four games.
Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels is set to become the starter in Mayfield’s absence.
“Well it’s going to be like every other rookie, but he’s played well in the preseason,” Bowles said. “He’s very bright. He’s not going to be out there by himself — there will be 22 other guys out there helping him out. So, we’re just expecting him to do his job, play at a high level, as he expects from himself.”
Bowles added that the Buccaneers will likely add either a veteran or a practice squad quarterback. Only Mayfield and Daniels are on the 53-man roster with Easton Stick on the practice squad.
Betting against the Buccaneers is good business.
After losing 23-16 as 1.5-point underdogs to the Vikings yesterday, the Buccaneers have now lost 12 consecutive games against the spread. Although there are no official records for point spread records, multiple betting researchers say no team in the Super Bowl era has ever lost that many consecutive games against the spread.
The Bucs have been favored in eight of those 12 games, but it doesn’t matter if the Buccaneers are big favorites: They were favored by nine points in Week 2 against the Browns and also by nine points in Week 14 last year against the Saints. The Bucs lost both games outright.
The last time the Bucs won against the spread was Week 8 of the 2025 season. That day, the Bucs were 3.5-point favorites against the Saints and won 23-3. In the 11 months since then, it has never paid off to bet on the Bucs.
Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield had to leave Sunday’s loss to the Vikings late in the fourth quarter and medical tests will help determine when he’s able to return.
Head coach Todd Bowles told reporters that Mayfield dislocated his right thumb on his final play of the game. Mayfield hit his thumb on Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman while throwing an interception under pressure just after the two minute warning. Mayfield’s screams could be heard on the broadcast and he went directly to the locker room after getting up.
Bowles said Mayfield will have an MRI on Monday to find out more about the extent of the injury. Bowles also said that X-rays did not show any fracture.
Rookie Jalon Daniels played the final snaps of the 23-16 loss and threw an interception while trying for a miracle on the final snap of the game. He is the only other quarterback on the Bucs’ roster and Easton Stick in on their practice squad.
The Vikings won’t be thrilled with how their offense performed in Sunday’s 23-16 win over the Buccaneers, but they had plenty to like on defense.
Brian Flores’s group sacked Baker Mayfield six times and pressured him into an interception that sealed the win just after the two minute warning. The Bucs added their final points of the day on a field goal shortly after the injury and rookie Jalon Daniels took the final snaps for the Bucs because Mayfield was already in the locker room.
Mayfield left because he slammed his right thumb into Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman while being hit after throwing the aforementioned interception. Mayfield’s post-play screams of pain could be heard on the Fox broadcast and he went directly to the locker room after getting up. Mayfield ended the day 17-of-34 for 217 yards and a touchdown and the 0-3 Bucs will be hoping that the news on his thumb is better than it seemed on the field.
The Vikings only picked up 77 yards of offense after the break as Kyler Murray struggled to move the ball. He was sacked three times while going 15-of-29 for 168 yards. A good chunk of those yards came on 30- and 41-yard completions to Jordan Addison in the second quarter and the 41-yarder accounted for the Vikings’ only offensive touchdown of the afternoon.
It didn’t help that wide receiver Justin Jefferson was lost for the day to an ankle injury in the first quarter, but relying on defense and special teams every week is a dangerous game to play. The special teams came through with Myles Price’s 86-yard punt return touchdown and three Will Reichard field goals, including a 56-yarder after the Bucs drew within a point in the fourth quarter.
The Vikings will host the 0-3 Dolphins next weekend, so their chances of improving to 4-0 will look good even if there’s no good news about Jefferson. The Buccaneers will host a pretty desperate Packers team in a Week 4 game that could make hot seats even warmer for the losers.
