The biggest news of cutdown day in Tampa was that rookie Jalon Daniels has won the backup quarterback job behind Baker Mayfield.
Jake Browning and Connor Bazelak were both let go as the Buccaneers pared their roster down to 53 players. Browning will be a free agent, but Bazelak is subject to waivers.
The Bucs also waived or released LB Chris Braswell, LB John Bullock, TE Devin Culp, TE Kenny Fletcher, OT Marshall Foerner, DL Josiah Green, WR Garrett Greene, WR Matthew Henry, LB Yasir Holmes, G Nash Hutmacher, WR Jha’Quan Jackson, LB Nick Jackson, DL Jayson Jones, G Elijah Klein, RB Barika Kpeenu, G Henry Lutovsky, S Robert McDaniel, CB Roman Parodie, WR Dean Patterson, K B.T. Potter, LB Jack Pyburn, WR Eric Rivers, S J.J. Roberts, T Paul Rubelt, C Ben Scott, DL Travis Shaw, RB Josh Williams, S Rashad Wisdom, LB Javin Wright, LB Mohamed Kamara, CB Pepe Williams, S Xavier Williams, LS Scott Daly, and S Ifeatu Melifonwu.
CB Josh Hayes and WR David Sills were both placed on injured reserve with the designation to return. They will have to miss at least four games.
Bucs Clips
The Buccaneers are parting ways with one of their top picks from the 2024 NFL Draft.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that they are waiving linebacker Chris Braswell as they set their initial 53-man roster on Saturday. Braswell was the 57th overall pick in 2024.
Braswell played in every game during his two seasons with the Bucs. He had 48 tackles, 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble during his time in Tampa.
The Bucs used a first-round pick on Rueben Bain this April and they hope that he will join Yaya Diaby to provide the kind of pass rush that the team was lacking last season.
In 2025, linebacker Jack Pyburn transferred to LSU from Florida. Depending on how things go over the next two days, he’ll accomplish a very different kind of transfer from Florida.
The undrafted Buccaneers has been waiver, after had four sacks during the preseason. If he clear waivers, Pyburn will return to LSU, via On3.com.
Pyburn is one of the plaintiffs in one of the lawsuits aimed at forcing retroactive application of the NCAA’s new five-year rule. To date, the players are winning the effort — despite the SEC’s attempt to slam the door on players who have signed with NFL teams.
If Pyburn is claimed by another pro team, he won’t be able to return to LSU. His contract will be inherited by the team who claims him, and the standard NFL player contract prohibits the player from playing football for any other team or league.
The Buccaneers gave undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels a shot to win the backup quarterback job and he took full advantage of it.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Bucs are going to release Jake Browning as they set their initial 53-man roster on Sunday. Word of Connor Bazelak’s departure came on Saturday and that leaves Daniels as the only quarterback behind Baker Mayfield in Tampa.
Browning signed with the Bucs this offseason after spending five seasons with the Bengals. He started three games last year after Joe Burrow was injured, but the Bengals traded for Joe Flacco to fill out the rest of Burrow’s time out of the lineup. That starting experience could make Browning an option for other teams looking to change up their quarterback depth chart in the coming days.
Daniels spent six seasons at Kansas and he wrapped up the preseason by going 8-of-15 for 57 yards on Friday night.
Quarterback Connor Bazelak fell behind rookie Jalon Daniels on the Buccaneers’ depth chart this offseason and he’s now off the roster altogether.
Greg Auman of Fox Sports reports that Bazelak is being waived as part of the team’s moves to get to the 53-player limit by Sunday afternoon’s deadline.
Daniels started the Bucs’ final preseason game after making a push for the No. 2 job behind Baker Mayfield this summer. Jake Browning is the other quarterback on the roster in Tampa.
Auman reports that the Bucs are also waiving running back Barika Kpeenu, tight end Kenny Fletcher, guard Nash Hutmacher, defensive tackle Travis Shaw, and linebacker John Bullock.
Baker Mayfield said he felt disrespected and undervalued by the contract offers that came from the Buccaneers this offseason, so the quarterback is now set to play out the final year of his current deal.
Mayfield also said that he wasn’t interested in continuing to negotiate when he got to training camp this summer, which sets up a lot of possible ways for things to go between now and the start of the 2027 season. During an interview on WFLA during Friday night’s preseason game, General Manager Jason Licht said he thinks that the end result of whatever happens in the coming months will be Mayfield in a Bucs uniform.
“I’m very optimistic about it,” Licht said, via Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. “He wants to play. He wants to prove to us that he is the franchise quarterback that we said that he was. So, we’ll just have to see how it plays out. I’ll never close the door on anything in the short term, but right now, he’s focused on football.”
The Bucs have the franchise tag at their disposal, so there’s little chance of Mayfield simply walking away off of a stellar season. Anything short of that opens up more possibilities that would make it a bit harder to share certainty about what the future will bring in Tampa.
Jalon Daniels will start tonight’s preseason finale against Jacksonville and will play the first half and possibly into the third quarter, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
The Bucs are giving the undrafted rookie from Kansas a chance to win the backup job to Baker Mayfield.
Jake Browning and Connor Bazelak will follow Daniels tonight.
Daniels rallied the Bucs to come-from-behind wins against the Jets and Chiefs the past two weeks, and in two weeks, he is 19-of-20 for 182 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. He also has rushed for a score.
Daniels took the majority of reps during the Bucs’ seven-on-seven period after Mayfield today, per Stroud.
The Buccaneers signed wide receiver Jha’Quan Jackson on Wednesday, the team announced.
In a corresponding move, the Bucs waived wide receiver Dennis Houston with an injury designation.
Jackson originally entered the NFL as a sixth-round selection by the Titans in the 2024 draft. He appeared in 12 games as a rookie, catching one pass for 8 yards while contributing primarily as a return specialist. He totaled 412 yards on 16 kickoff returns (25.8 avg.) and 215 yards on 28 punt returns (7.7 avg.).
In addition to the Titans, Jackson has also briefly spent time with the Saints in 2025 and the Texans in 2026.
He played collegiately at Tulane University (2019-23), appearing in 56 career games and made 109 catches for 1,743 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Buccaneers first-round pick Rueben Bain is dealing with a shoulder injury.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the linebacker has an AC joint sprain. The injury is not considered to be a serious one and Bain is currently expected to be available for Tampa’s Week 1 game against the Bengals.
The Bucs will be in Cincinnati for that game on September 13, which leaves Bain with 18 days to heal before the season opener.
Bain is expected to play a key role off the edge for the Bucs, who are looking to the rookie to help improve a pass rush that was lacking too often during the 2025 season.
The Buccaneers signed rookie wide receiver Matthew Henry on Tuesday, the team announced.
In a corresponding move, the Bucs placed rookie defensive lineman Deshawn McKnight on injured reserve. McKnight injured a hamstring in the team’s preseason win over the Chiefs on Saturday night.
Henry finished his collegiate tenure last year at Western Kentucky after previous stops at Western Illinois and Livingstone College.
He started all 13 games for the Hilltoppers in 2025, hauling in 55 passes for 888 yards and six touchdowns. He was named to the All-Conference USA second team.
After going undrafted in April, he participated in rookie minicamps with the Titans and 49ers.
The Bucs need help at the position to get through the final week of the preseason. Wideouts Emeka Egbuka (toe), Jalen McMillan (knee) and Tez Johnson (groin) all have missed practice time this week.
