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: Can Jalon Daniels be QB2? His ceiling, especially as a backup that can run, can be a better option for a handful of games.

ANSWER: Can rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels be Tampa Bay’s backup quarterback behind Baker Mayfield? I think so – eventually. But I do not expect that to happen this year. First, Daniels, an undrafted free agent out of Kansas, must beat out Connor Bazelak in the preseason and secure the QB3 role – either on the active roster or the practice squad. After Friday’s performance, in which Daniels was 10-of-15 for 111 yards and a rushing touchdown, I think he has the early lead for that spot on the depth chart.

Bazelak wasn’t bad in the preseason opener, and the Jets did have their starting defense in for the first two series. He completed 12-of-20 passes for 72 yards, but was off target on a couple of this throws, including a potential touchdown to Ted Hurst III. Bazelak, who was on the practice squad last year as Tampa Bay’s third-stringer, also had an 8-yard run to pick up a first down, as did Daniels on a 5-yard carry.

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

The Bucs signed former Bengals backup Jake Browning to be QB2 behind Mayfield this year, and the team has been pleased with his performance in training camp. Sources tell me the Buccaneers believe he’s the best backup the team has had since Blaine Gabbert backed up Tom Brady. Browning was supposed to get the start on Friday night against New York but injured his back on a scramble in Tuesday’s joint practice. We’ll see if he’s able to go this week against Kansas City on Saturday. Mayfield could get the start to see some brief action in the preseason.

What Daniels brings in terms of upside is his live arm, which was on display several times on Friday night, including a 35-yard strike to Garrett Greene, in addition to his scrambling ability and his 4.65 speed. The biggest question for him is how quickly he can grasp Zac Robinson’s playbook and adjust to the speed of the game in the NFL. So far, so great for Daniels in his first NFL action in the preseason opener.

If he continues to play at a high level in August, he could force the Bucs to keep him on the active roster as QB3 rather than being relegated to the practice squad. If he has two more quality preseason games, it may be too risky to cut him and try to have him clear waivers to make Tampa Bay’s practice squad. I think if Daniels does win the QB3 role, he’ll stick on the active roster, and I had him on the 53-man roster in my Bucs Early 53-Man Roster Prediction story on Saturday.

QUESTION: I, for one, are on board with Ayden Garnes starting at CB or at least ahead of Benjamin Morrison. Give him more reps as a starter. Kid has looked good in camp and with this preseason game which is way more than BMo has done. Loved how he attacks the ball and the runner for the tackle.

ANSWER: I too am a Benjamin Morrison skeptic – for two valid reasons. The first is that he simply can’t stay healthy due to recurring hamstring injuries that have plagued him since his rookie season. He’s missed more training camp time than he has participated in over the last two Augusts. And Morrison, last year’s second-round pick, has yet to play in a preseason game.

As I reported on Saturday, this is a big week for Morrison, who is expected to finally see action on special teams and in 11-on-11 team periods as he’s been limited to just individual drills when he has suited up, which hasn’t been too frequent. And the team is hopeful that he can make it through the week of four consecutive practices to see action on Saturday in the preseason game versus Kansas City.

The second reason I’m a skeptic is that Morrison just hasn’t made many plays on the ball in the 10 games he saw action in last season. He had four pass breakups last year, but surrendered a pair of touchdowns in losses to New England and Buffalo. After missing seven games last year I haven’t been convinced enough that he is a legitimate contender to be a starter in the NFL. Meanwhile, Jacob Parrish, last year’s third-rounder, started all 17 games last year and thrived. And he’s already locked down the CB2 role this year opposite Zyon McCollum.

Bucs CB Ayden Garnes and Jets RB Breece Hall – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

As for Ayden Garnes, I’m a big fan. I reported on his ability to standout during the OTAs and the mandatory mini-camp because he was always making plays on the ball with his sticky coverage. That’s continued in training camp and was on full display against the Jets. Garnes, who had a pick-six in New York, reminds me a bit of Donnie Abraham, who set the franchise rookie record with five interceptions in 1996. The game is not too big for him.

Garnes needs to continue to work on his tackling as he missed a couple on Friday. He’s an ankle-biter like Parrish is, but Parrish does a better job of wrapping up and bringing guys to the ground with lower body tackles. Garnes showed he could do that with a great tackle on Breece Hall in the backfield, he just needs to do it more consistently.

I think Morrison is CB3 on the Bucs depth chart ahead of Garnes (CB4) and rookie Keionte Scott (CB5). But if I were Todd Bowles, I would have Garnes as CB3, Scott as CB4 and Morrison at CB5 right now.

QUESTION: Can you help me to trust Zac Robinson’s run scheme? The rushing game was elite after Liam Coen went from zone to power/gap. Why should outside zone work now? The O-line is the same. The Bucs don’t have a speed RB to push the edge. The Jets game wasn’t good.

ANSWER: Well, the Bucs did run some zone under Liam Coen, but yes, the offensive line proved to be better running gap and duo, which are man blocking schemes. Still, Coen did mix it up and also ran plenty of counter as well. The key is having a diversified rushing attack, and that’s something the Bucs truly didn’t have last year, especially down the stretch.

Of course the Bucs were missing starting guards Cody Mauch and Ben Bredeson late in the season, and former offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard leaned too heavily into gap and duo blocks – likely out of necessity. But it made Tampa Bay’s run game too predictable late in the season and that’s a big reason why Bucky Irving didn’t average four yards per carry in any of the late season games in December or January. Defenses knew what was coming and were ready to stop it.

Bucs RB Kenneth Gainwell and OC Zac Robinson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

New offensive coordinator Zac Robinson does want to incorporate more wide zone scheme this year than Coen did in 2024, and the Bucs offensive line is just going to have to get better at it by doing it and repping it more. There is only so much improvement the offensive line and the tight ends can make in practice because even at full speed practice is still run at a “thud” tempo to eliminate players from going to the ground.

So truly 100% blocking can’t be worked on and improved until Sundays and it’s going to take Tampa Bay’s offensive line time to gel and perfect wide zone. Not having All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs so far in training camp doesn’t help, either. Wide zone calls for all offensive linemen to operate at the same speed in concert while moving laterally. So I expect the results to be mixed early on wide zone runs.

However, with three quick backs in Bucky Irving, Kenneth Gainwell and Sean Tucker, who accelerate much faster than Rachaad White with the ball in their hands, I’m confident this still of running game can be an effective change up to the power/duo scheme the Bucs have perfected.

Don’t be discouraged by the meager results from the run game in the preseason opener. The Bucs used that game to evaluate the passing of quarterbacks Jalon Daniels and Connor Bazelak as well as the team’s young wide receivers. When the starting offensive line and Irving and Gainwell see some action on Saturday versus the Chiefs, I expect Tampa Bay to come out running in the first quarter.

QUESTION: Who surprised you in a way that you didn’t expect in the game on Friday?

ANSWER: I think the obvious answer is rookie outside linebacker Jack Pyburn, who had two of the Bucs’ four sacks in the preseason win over the Jets. If you’ve read our stories on PewterReport.com and watched my Pewter Pulse videos and the Pewter Report Podcasts on our PewterReportTV channel the performances of quarterback Jalon Daniels, cornerbacks Pepe Williams and Ayden Garnes, wide receiver Ted Hurst III and defensive tackle Elijah Roberts shouldn’t have surprised you.

But Pyburn, an undrafted free agent out of LSU, totaled just 10.5 sacks in four seasons between the Tigers and the Florida Gators, and he only had a career-high 5.5 in 2025. Nobody saw two sacks coming for Pyburn on Friday night, but he played with really sound technique, physicality and a high motor. He certainly played better than Chris Braswell, a second-round pick in 2024, who was invisible in New York and has underwhelmed in camp.

Bucs OLB Jack Pyburn – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

The problem for Pyburn is that this year’s depth chart at outside linebacker is stacked. Tampa Bay typically only keeps five outside linebackers, and barring injury, those players are all but assured of roster spots. Veteran Yaya Diaby, who is entering a contract year, and Rueben Bain Jr, the team’s first-round pick, will start. David Walker, who is coming off a torn ACL that robbed him of his rookie season, is making a run at the OLB3 role as he’s having a dominant camp with at least one sack in all 12 practices.

Al-Quadin Muhammad is a veteran who was signed for depth purposes, and stalwart Anthony Nelson is back due to his experience, his ability to set the edge in the run game and as a starter on special teams. Pyburn is battling Braswell, Mo Kamara, who was on the practice squad last year, and fellow rookie Yasir Holmes for roster consideration and a shot at the practice squad.

But it won’t just be racking up more sacks that would get Pyburn on the active roster. Jose Ramirez, a former sixth-round pick, had three sacks versus Jacksonville in the 2024 preseason and didn’t even make the 53-man roster because he wasn’t very good on special teams. If Pyburn wants to force the Bucs to keep six OLBs he needs to star on special teams over the next two preseason games.