Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport X account this week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to SR each week via X using the hashtag #PRMailbag. Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: Keeping Jalon Daniels as QB2 is risky. There were 32 teams that passed on him in the draft, so there has to be a reason. Admittedly if Baker Mayfield goes down we are in trouble, but having an undrafted rookie as his backup seems like a massive gamble, no?

ANSWER: Yes, there is risk to keeping an undrafted free agent quarterback as Baker Mayfield’s primary backup. But Jalon Daniels is no ordinary rookie QB. He’s been a very pleasant surprise in Tampa Bay and has shown more poise, NFL tools and playmaking ability than Kyle Trask ever did as a former second-round pick. The Bucs quickly recognized in camp that Daniels was more talented than veteran Jake Browning, who was originally signed to be QB2 this offseason, and Connor Bazelak, who beat out Trask for the QB3 job on the practice squad last year, and gave the rookie a lot more reps to rapidly develop him.

The reason why 32 teams passed on Daniels is because he was a streaky passer in college, largely due to his footwork and mechanics breaking down at times. That can be fixed with coaching and fundamentals. Chandler Whitmer, TJ Yates and Zac Robinson can certainly help Daniels improve in that area, and the Kansas product did make some necessary strides in camp and in the preseason. Another reason Daniels may have gone undrafted is that the Jayhawks did not have as much team success over the last two seasons, going 10-14 from 2024-25.

Bucs QB Jalon Daniels – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

I think the Bucs were thinking if Mayfield does go down for an extended period of time the team is likely screwed – and that’s largely the case around the NFL. As former Bucs senior offensive assistant and former Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore famously said when asked why Indianapolis didn’t give Peyton Manning’s backup more reps in practice: “Fellas, if 18 goes down, we’re f*cked. And we don’t practice f*cked.”

So if Mayfield were to go down for an extended period of time the season may be lost. And if that were the case, why not give those starts to an electrifying player with escapability and more upside than Browning, who is a finished product at age 30? I think that’s what the Bucs are thinking by keeping Daniels on as QB2, and betting that Mayfield’s durability continues as he has not missed a start since taking over at quarterback in 2023.

That said, look for the Bucs to sign a veteran quarterback to the practice squad as QB3. It won’t be Bazelak nor will it be Browning, whose attitude soured in camp as Daniels began to take more snaps in practice and got more playing time in the games.

QUESTION: Are we going to add any better offensive line depth or are we going to have to wait for next year’s draft and free agency?

ANSWER: It will be interesting to see if the Bucs make any waiver claims on Monday or if they sign another offensive lineman if he clears waivers. As we know, the Bucs have an elite starting unit with left tackle Tristan Wirfs, left guard Ben Bredeson, center Graham Barton, right guard Cody Mauch and right tackle Luke Goedeke. But the depth is certainly shaky, especially coming off a lackluster preseason.

As of right now, the Bucs are keeping 10 offensive linemen, which is a little excessive and speaks to the lack of quality depth. There is no true dominant reserve interior offensive lineman and there is no clear-cut dominant swing tackle. The Bucs have 32-year old veteran Dan Feeney, who can play center and guard. Then the Bucs decided to keep Luke Haggard, who had a good preseason and camp, as well as Billy Schrauth, who was injured throughout most of camp and missed every preseason game.

Bucs OL Dan Feeney and Luke Haggard – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Schrauth dealt with injuries at Notre Dame, and him getting hurt and missing a chunk of camp does not bode well for him at the NFL level. I think the Bucs are desperate to find capable depth and are giving him the benefit of the doubt as a fifth-round pick for some reason. Haggard is the better player, and if there is someone who needs to get cut to add another player at another position I would think it would be Schrauth, who could sneak on the practice squad as there is no NFL film on him.

At swing tackle, the team has high hopes for Ben Chukwuma, who is raw and athletic. But after a good start to camp, Chukwuma struggled and then got injured, which slowed his progress. His upside is too good to turn away from, so he makes the 53-man roster again to continue his development. The Bucs think he can eventually be a starter in the league, but it’s going to take a few years as the Nigerian-born tackle only played two years of football prior to the NFL and that was at Georgia State. As a result, the team was forced to keep veteran swing tackle Justin Skule, who also struggled with a camp injury and inconsistency.

We’ll see what happens with Mauch, who is in a contract year, next offseason. But I would expect the Bucs to invest a premium draft pick in an interior offensive lineman next year to either replace Mauch if he leaves in free agency, or to challenge Bredeson, who will entering a contract year in 2027.

QUESTION: Looking at the final roster, why did we load up on offensive line and defensive line, but only keep three running backs and safeties? Is the idea to have those spots filled on practice squad?

ANSWER: This is a good question, and one that a lot of Bucs fans are probably asking on Monday after the roster cuts were announced and the initial 53-man roster was comprised. I’ve already addressed the thinking behind keeping 10 offensive linemen. I don’t agree with that and have no idea why the team is keeping Billy Schrauth on the 53-man roster when he didn’t play a down in the preseason due to injury. I think he could have cleared waivers and landed on the practice squad.

Yet I can see why the Bucs decided to keep three running backs. The team believes that Josh Williams can clear waivers and be signed to the practice squad as RB4. There is only one ball and it’s rare that teams lose three running backs due to injury in one game. So most likely Tampa Bay would only have three running backs – Bucky Irving, Kenneth Gainwell and Sean Tucker – active on gameday anyways.

Bucs DT Elijah Simmons – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

On defense, the Bucs kept one more defensive tackle than they usually do. Instead of keeping six the team opted for seven and I think the main reason is that Tampa Bay wants to have the veteran presence that 31-year olds Vita Vea and A’Shawn Robinson and 33-year old Rakeem Nunez-Roches bring to the table this year, as well as the young, developmental talent that second-year players Elijah Roberts and Elijah Simmons as well as rookie DeMonte Capehart possess for the long term.

Vea is signed through the 2027 season and during the 2028 offseason he’ll be a 33-year old free agent. There’s a good chance that this is Nunez-Roches and Robinson’s only season in Tampa Bay and they’ll provide veteran play and leadership while young players like Roberts, Simmons and Capehart develop and gain experience during the 2026 season. Then those players will be better suited for more playing time and perhaps Roberts or Capehart can replace Robinson as the starting 4i/5 technique in 2027 and Simmons could replace Nunez-Roches as Vea’s primary backup at nose tackle next year.

Keeping seven defensive linemen – and five inside linebackers rather than four – came at the expense of keeping a fourth safety. The team believes that Ifeatu Melifonwu, JJ Roberts and Rashad Wisdom, who had a great camp and preseason, can clear waivers and sneak on the practice squad. It’s a gamble, but safeties are easier to find on the street than quality defensive linemen.

QUESTION: SR, I understand that preseason is what it is and that this offense will take time to come together. However should we be at all concerned with the lack of production we saw in general from this Offense. Compared to Liam Coen’s 24 preseason this was pretty lackluster.

ANSWER: Well, truth be told, Liam Coen’s offense didn’t exactly light it up in the preseason, although it did score more points, rush for more yards and fare better on third down in the month of August in 2024 compared to Zac Robinson’s offensive output this preseason. Of course the Jacksonville game was the real clunker, getting shut out and not even producing 100 yards of total offense in a game that was largely played by third-stringers.

2024 PRESEASON GAME 1: Bucs at Bengals – 17-10 win
17 points – 6-of-17 on third down
390 total yards, 136 rushing yards

2024 PRESEASON GAME 2: Bucs at Jaguars – 20-7 loss
7 points – 2-of-11 on third down
207 total yards, 76 rushing yards

2024 PRESEASON GAME 3: Bucs vs. Dolphins – 24-14 win
24 points – 1-of-10 on third down
290 total yards, 95 rushing yards

2026 PRESEASON GAME 1: Bucs at Jets – 24-16 win
17 points – 6-of-14 on third down
245 total yards, 69 rushing yards

2026 PRESEASON GAME 2: Bucs vs Chiefs – 16-15 win
16 points – 4-of-12 on third down
242 total yards, 99 rushing yards

2026 PRESEASON GAME 3: Bucs at Jaguars – 19-0 loss
0 points – 2-of-12 on third down
87 total yards, 56 rushing yards

The Bucs starters only played two drives versus the Chiefs in the second preseason game and didn’t do much outside of a couple of nice runs by Bucky Irving. Without Tristan Wirfs, Ben Chukwuma and Justin Skule, Tampa Bay had to start undrafted free agent Paul Rubelt at left tackle versus Kansas City and did not want to risk an injury to Baker Mayfield so Robinson didn’t have him drop back and throw anything longer than 10 yards down the field on quick throws. So that certainly muted some of Robinson’s offensive output in August.

Bucs OC Zac Robinson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

I have faith that the talent of Tampa Bay’s now-healthy offensive line can get the running game going, although the wide zone concepts Robinson is bringing from Atlanta will take some time to get down. I expect his offense will start slow out of the gate, similar to Coen’s in 2024. Everyone remembers the four-touchdown game by Mayfield in the 37-20 win over Washington in Week 1 that year. That Commanders defense had a lot of new starters in Dan Quinn’s first game as head coach.

But many forget that Coen’s offense scored 20 points the next week in a 20-16 win at Detroit and just seven points in a 26-7 shellacking at the hands of Denver in Week 3. I could see an early eruption from Tampa Bay’s offense, perhaps against a shaky Cincinnati defense in the season opener, or against a Myles Garrett-less Cleveland defense in Week 2, but struggle in other games early on.

The biggest concern I have is Robinson’s reliance on screen passes to wide receivers in the flat. Chiefs rookie edge rusher R Mason Thomas batted one day and nearly came away with an interception. Mark it down, Mayfield will throw an interception on a screen pass this year, but it will be Robinson’s fault because he calls them too often as it looks like a staple in his offense. And I’m not sure why that is because a lot of the time those screens are sniffed out by the defense and not properly blocked. They don’t work more than half the time by my count from what I’ve seen in practice.