TAMPA, Fla. — Jalon Daniels entered Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp as an undrafted free agent and fourth on the quarterback depth chart. By the end of the preseason, he had earned the backup quarterback role on the 53-man roster.
"You got to love that. Especially for a UDFA guy, this coaching staff has done nothing but show me love since getting here," Daniels said.
WATCH BELOW: Undrafted Bucs rookie Jalon Daniels earns backup QB role
Bucs General Manager Jason Licht made the decision to give the QB2 role to an undrafted rookie — something most teams don't do.
"It's an incredible accomplishment for an undrafted rookie to get that position," Licht said.
Licht said Daniels' performance in the first preseason game against the Jets shifted the conversation around his roster standing.
"After the first preseason game with the Jets, I think that started the conversation towards, he has to prove he can't be the number two, more than he can be," Licht said.
Head coach Todd Bowles said Daniels' poise stood out from the start.
"We started seeing it in camp. Once he played the first preseason game, he had a very good game; it wasn't the plays he made, it was the poise he showed. The learning got better every week, day by day, and he beat him out," Bowles said.
Daniels leapfrogged experienced backup Jake Browning, whom the Bucs released during Sunday's cuts.
Licht said experience alone was not enough to keep Browning on the roster.
"You can go back and forth with the experience argument, but we'd rather have a very talented, prepared, inexperienced QB than going with experienced just for the sake of saying the guy is experienced," Licht said.
Daniels showed enormous promise with his arm and legs, but his inexperience showed with botched quarterback-center exchanges during the third preseason game. Daniels said he is focused on not repeating mistakes.
"I'm very big on not trying to make the same mistake twice. I think that's something I harp on a lot. Once I'm coached about doing something, I try my best to not make that same mistake. I think that's what allowed me to keep growing," Daniels said.
Daniels is one of three undrafted rookies to make the team, along with Ayden Garnes and Caden Fordham.
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