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The Bucs opened their 2026 preseason slate last Friday night, beating the Jets 24-16 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. With those joint practices with the Jets and that preseason opener behind them, they returned home to the AdventHealth Training Center this week for four straight practices Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and now, all eyes are on Saturday night.

At long last, Tampa Bay will return to Raymond James Stadium, where it will play host to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2 of the preseason. This marks the Bucs’ only preseason game at home and the last time they’ll play in the (no longer) New Sombrero until Sept. 20, when they host the Browns in their regular season home opener.

Following Saturday’s game, Todd Bowles and Co. will turn their attention to joint practices with the Jaguars in Jacksonville next week, which will lead up to the preseason finale against them on Friday, Aug. 28.

First things first, though. Let’s take a look at some of the top Bucs to keep an eye on throughout Saturday night’s preseason game at Ray Jay, starting first with the offensive side of the ball.

Bucs To Watch In Preseason Week 2: Offense

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

QB Baker Mayfield – No. 6

Assuming Todd Bowles follows his normal preseason pattern, this will be the only preseason action Baker Mayfield gets, which means it’s the one chance everyone will have to see him operate Zac Robinson’s offense prior to Week 1 in Cincinnati. More than anything, it’ll be important to look for No. 6 to show good command of the offense and stay upright without taking unnecessary chances. It may not be a prolonged appearance and there may not be all that many dropbacks, but it’ll still be good to see Mayfield under center in a game setting once again.

QB Jalon Daniels – No. 10

Once Baker Mayfield exits the game, there are bound to be some snaps in store for backup Jake Browning. But it feels like everyone will ultimately be counting down to the moment Jalon Daniels comes into the game. He had a dazzling debut last Friday, and now it’s time to see if he can follow it up with another big performance. If so, Todd Bowles’ noncommittal answer on the backup quarterback job from earlier this week becomes that much more interesting.

RB Bucky Irving – No. 7

Bucky Irving was never quite the same when he returned from injury last season, and then he had offseason shoulder surgery. So, while he’s taken some hits and gotten back into the swing of things during training camp, Saturday will give him a chance to get back into the flow of a live game. How nice would it be to see Irving break off a chunk run in his return to action and get those “Bucky! Bucky! Bucky!” chants going in Raymond James Stadium. Any sign of the guy who averaged 5.4 yards per carry as a rookie rather than the one who dipped to 3.4 last year would be a welcome development.

WR Ted Hurst III – No. 17

Bucs WR Ted Hurst III – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Ted Hurst put together a solid debut in the Bucs’ preseason opener, but he was let down on more than one occasion by his quarterback. With injuries to some of Tampa Bay’s starting receivers, there’s a good chance Hurst will get to play with Baker Mayfield, and that sets up a good chance to see the type of connection we’ll come to see on Sundays throughout the fall. Hurst came so close to his first touchdown against the Jets. Can he haul one in against the Chiefs Saturday night?

WR David Sills – No. 80

Throughout the early part of camp, David Sills was one of the most consistently productive receivers on the Bucs’ roster. A knee injury cost him some time and the preseason opener, but he returned to practice this week and instantly put up a couple of touchdowns. Assuming he plays against Kansas City, he has a chance to continue making his case for a WR6/Sterling Shepard-type role where he starts on the practice squad and is a regular on the active roster come gamedays.

TE Bauer Sharp – No. 84

Sharp continued to work heavily into the Bucs’ starting offense this week with Cade Otton sidelined, and he’ll likely feature into the team’s plans again Saturday night. That’ll give him a chance to build on an uneven preseason debut. He had a bad drop last Friday night against the Jets, but he caught his other four targets for 24 yards. Tampa Bay likes its sixth-round tight end out of LSU and he has a strong shot to make the roster. Saturday is another good chance for him to settle into the NFL game.

OT Paul Rubelt – No. 76

Rubelt is certainly more of a developmental player, and as an international pathway program player, he doesn’t count toward the Bucs’ 90-man roster right now nor their 53-man roster come regular season time. But while Tampa Bay likes his size at 6-foot-10 as well as some of his raw tools, he’s also 26 years old. So he’ll need to show enough to stay around, extra roster spot or not. The UCF product out of Frankfurt, Germany had two penalties in 35 snaps at left tackle last Friday (bad), but he didn’t allow a pressure in 18 pass blocking snaps and earned a 71.6 pass blocking grade from PFF (good). We’ll see how he fares Saturday night in his next chance.

Bucs RG Cody Mauch and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

G Cody Mauch – No. 69

Saturday will mark Cody Mauch’s return to game action after nearly a full year. He missed the rest of the 2026 season after suffering a torn meniscus in Week 2 last season, but he’s been healthy for much of this offseason and now appears ready to get back into the swing of a live game setting. It’ll be good for Mauch to get any initial mental hurdles out of the way, but more than anything, it’ll just be good to see him back on the field again, protecting Baker Mayfield and paving the way for the Buccaneer run game.

C Dan Feeney – No. 65

Dan Feeney was initially signed as guard depth during the 2025 season, but it’s his guard-center versatility that seems like it’ll keep him around for 2026, too. He’s listed as the Bucs’ backup center on their depth chart as of now and played all 28 of his snaps last week at center, faring pretty well. He’s one to watch on the interior again Saturday night as he looks to lock up a depth role in the o-line room.