Mayfield has missed three consecutive games since dislocating his thumb in Week 3. There is optimism he will be able to return next week, just in time for Tampa Bay’s first division game of the season at Carolina.
Bucs officials are closely monitoring Mayfield’s recovery early in the week. He had stitches removed from his thumb last week and attempted to throw earlier in the week, which led the team to rule him out for the Steelers game. Updates from team and league reporters indicated that Daniels would start against Pittsburgh unless something unforeseen arises, with Mayfield working toward a return but not yet cleared.
Daniels has led the Buccaneers to a 1-1 record as the starter since Mayfield’s injury in Week 3, with a win over the Dallas Cowboys helping lift the team to 1-4 on the season. Statistically, Daniels has achieved notable milestones early in his NFL career. Since quarterback starts began being tracked in 1950, only one quarterback has in his first two NFL starts completed 70% of passes, thrown for a TD, and rushed for 20+ yards, and that quarterback is Jalon Daniels, who went undrafted. Daniels also joined a rare club by defeating the Cowboys in his second start, becoming the first undrafted rookie starting QB to beat Dallas since 1987.
Daniels’ performance included completing 19 of 25 passes for 189 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions, plus 23 rushing yards in the win over Dallas. He was making his second consecutive start after Mayfield’s injury.
For additional context, Daniels previously delivered a standout debut against the Minnesota Vikings and earned a win in the following week, contributing to a notable early-season stretch for Tampa Bay.
If you’d like more granular game-by-game breakdowns or stats, I can add those as well.
