Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is expecting lose a few weeks after dislocating the thumb on his throwing hand in the Week 3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. That means it’s Jalon Daniels time in Tampa.
The undrafted rookie from Kansas will be thrown into the starting lineup this Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. He will be the first Kansas quarterback to start a game since Frank Seurer in 1987, and he is actually the first undrafted rookie quarterback to start a game in Buccaneers history, according to CBS Sports Research.
The Bucs are off to a disappointing 0-3 start, and there’s a lot of blame to go around for this team’s issues. With head coach Todd Bowles feeling on a hotter seat, can this undrafted player come in and spark the offense against a beatable opponent? Let’s see who Jalon Daniels is.
Three-star recruit from California
Daniels was born in Lawndale, California, and attended Lawndale High School. As a recruit, 247Sports ranked him as a three-star prospect, the No. 61 dual-threat athlete in the country, and No. 298 overall player from the state of California. Daniels initially committed to Middle Tennessee State, but later decommitted and pledged allegiance to the Jayhawks.
True freshman starter
Daniels was one of three Kansas quarterbacks to appear in the 2020 season opener, which was played in an empty stadium due to the coronavirus pandemic. He started for his second college game, and completed 19 of 33 passes for 159 yards while also rushing for 23 yards in a 47–14 loss to Baylor. Daniels was only 17 years old at the time.
It was a difficult season for Daniels and the Jayhawks, as Kansas finished with an 0-9 record. The true freshman completed 50% of his passes for 718 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions in seven games played with six starts.
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Back to backup, then a memorable first win
Kansas named Jason Bean as its new starting quarterback for the 2021 season, but an injury forced Daniels back into the lineup. The first start came against the hated Texas Longhorns — who were 30-point favorites against Kansas. Daniels led the Jayhawks to a thrilling 57-56 upset victory in overtime, where he threw for 202 yards, three touchdowns, and rushed for 45 yards and another touchdown.
Daniels showed his skills as a magician with the game-winning two-point conversion.
Rock Chalk roller coaster
Daniels was named the starter for the 2022 season, which will be his junior year. Kansas started off hot, winning its first five games before falling to a ranked TCU team. Overall, the Jayhawks recorded their most victories in a season (6) since 2008, as Daniels threw for 2,014 yards, 18 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Entering 2023, Daniels was named the Big 12 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. The college football world was primed to embrace him as Lawrence’s beloved legend, but a nagging back injury suffered before the start of the campaign sidelined Daniels for just three games. Even without Daniels, Kansas went 9-4 and won its first bowl game in 15 years. Running back Devin Neal emerged as a star, rushing for 1,280 yards and 16 touchdowns that year.
Daniels announced on Nov. 16, 2023, that he will return to Kansas for what will be his redshirt junior season in 2024.
“I’m going to be blunt. This season didn’t go as planned,” said Daniels. “But life comes at you fast, and sometimes your story’s out of your control. But I guess that just means I have unfinished business. My dreams haven’t changed, my goals are still there, and my vision for my future is clear. So you want something to talk about? Talk about this: I’m not done yet, and I’m not going anywhere. Rock Chalk.”
Kansas had a rough start to the year, losing six of its first eight games. However, the Jayhawks bounced back to beat three straight teams in Iowa State, BYU and Colorado. Daniels threw for 2,454 yards, 14 touchdowns and a career-high 12 interceptions, but also recorded a career-high 439 yards rushing and six touchdowns.
Daniels is back for his sixth year at Kansas thanks to the COVID-19 and injury waivers.
“It’s about finishing where you started,” Daniels told CBS Sports ahead of the 2025 season. “I went to a lot of high schools. I went to a lot of middle schools. Kansas gave me an opportunity when no other Power Five school in the country gave me an opportunity, and I feel like that played a big part.”
Daniels registered his second straight 5-7 season, and threw for a career-high 2,531 yards, a career-high 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
“My journey at Kansas has been a little bit like my life; it’s had a lot of ups and downs, and it hasn’t been easy,” Daniels said. “When I felt like I was playing at my best, trials and tribulations like injuries came. It’s always about being able to bounce back from it.”
The NFL journey begins
Daniels’ Kansas story didn’t go or end the way everyone wanted it to. While he showed star potential, he left Lawrence with a 19-26 record and questions about his future as a football player.
Daniels finished his college career ranked second in program history in passing yards (9,282) and passing touchdowns (67), and was one of two Jayhawks to amass 10,000 yards of total offense, joining Todd Reesing. Draft experts have criticized his throwing mechanics, accuracy, and ability to diagnose coverages, but what he can do as a scrambler is enticing. It all led to Daniels going undrafted, but he found an opportunity with the Buccaneers.
In Tampa, Mayfield was established as the starter, and he had Jake Browning as the new No. 2. Browning was once viewed as the top backup in the NFL, as he won four of seven starts with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2023. However, Daniels found a way to unseat him. The rookie completed 61.4% of his passes for 239 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions in three preseason games played and also rushed for 37 yards and another touchdown.
Now, Daniels is presented with a tremendous opportunity. From being an underrated recruit out of California, to the ups and downs at Kansas and his successful fight to earn a roster spot on an NFL team, Daniels can add another chapter to his captivating story by registering an upset victory in his first NFL start. Who’s to say it can’t? Quarterbacks who didn’t start in Week 1 were a perfect 6-0.
“I think the one thing I learned in college is, you can’t be the thermometer, you have to be the thermostat,” Daniels said this week. “You have to be someone who can come in and set the temperature of the room, not test the room and try to fit in. If a team is low, I have to get it to make sure they’re even. If we’re high, I have to be low to make sure we’re even. I try to do that as much as possible. even feeling, the team around you feels that.”