Gronk Weighs In On Jalon Daniels’ Chances
October 2nd, 2026
Not since 2018 has a backup quarterback started a game for the Buccaneers.
And that will change Sunday.
Jalon Daniels has the green light to try and lead the Bucs out of their worst stretch since The Lost Decade. Daniels played a little in preseason, won the job and got his feet wet for a series against the Vikings on Sunday after Baker Mayfield left with a busted up thumb.
Can the Bucs pull themselves out of 0-3 with a green rookie? Retired Bucs Super Bowl tight end Rob Gronkowski says they can.
Gronk knows the NFL is not as predictable as it seems. Heck, the Browns are 3-1.
“Yeah, they can [win with Daniels,” Gronk told Rotowire.com. “You don’t know what they’re going to have with Jalon Daniels, but they have enough weapons around them where they can create a playbook to get things going. They really could. They got to get the run game going as well. That’s where it all starts in football when your team isn’t playing so well. It’s going to be tough, though. This guy is a rookie, undrafted free agent, but who knows what he has in the tank, and who knows what we’re going to see because no one’s ever seen this guy play in the NFL before.
Joe loves how Gronk pointed to coaches and weapons. Rightfully so. The Bucs certainly have healthy offensive line talent that should be able to muster a running game.
Good offenses run the ball when everyone knows it’s coming, and the Bucs will have to do plenty of that Sunday against Green Bay — and put Daniels in positions to succeed. Antoine Winfield, too!
October 2nd, 2026 at 12:09 pm
Main advantage is they don’t have actual game film on Daniels…..that’s about it.
October 2nd, 2026 at 12:14 pm
The Buccs certainly can win this game. Packers have allowed the most pressure and quick pressures in the NFL. The Buccs blitz at the second highest rate. The Packers average the fewest rushing yards in the league and are on pace for a record low. The Buccaneers have one of the best run defenses in the NFL. The packers have allowed a ton of missed tackles on defense against the run last week and just allowed 35 to Atlanta in Penix’s first game after a long layoff. GB’s best rusher, Lukas Van Ness has to go against our best lineman in Wirfs.
October 2nd, 2026 at 12:25 pm
“They got to get the run game going as well. That’s where it all starts in football when your team isn’t playing so well. It’s going to be tough, though.”
Green Bays’ defense is allowing avg of 138 rushing yards per game. If there were ever a game to run the ball and attempt to impose our will on a defense, it’s this game. Don’t care if it’s Bucky, Gainwell, Tucker or what’s less likely-a mix of all 3 to be heavily used from the opening whistle. Leave those damn WR run alone.
October 2nd, 2026 at 12:27 pm
Yeah but I have no faith in Robinson to be able to manage Daniels to a win. If the offense is finally successful this season, it will show that Mayfield is the problem or at least that Robinson and Mayfield don’t work well together. It will take more than one game to convince us either way but that is what I am looking for.
October 2nd, 2026 at 12:28 pm
We can easily win this game with Jalon Daniels
This entire off-season, this fanbase was boasting about this offense
A top offensive line, one of the best WR group, a solid TE, excellent RBs
If we have all of this, then winning with Daniels shouldn’t be a problem
The hype is gone
It’s time to put up or shut up
October 2nd, 2026 at 12:32 pm
Green Bay is very vulnerable to outside runs, misdirection runs, etc. I have faith Daniels will manage the game well enough to win. I have zero faith that Robinson can put together a game plan.
October 2nd, 2026 at 12:34 pm
I have no expectations. I have some hope he can spark and offense that has been pretty bad. I don’t see how he can be any worse than the play prior.Yes let him go out and play. Frankly I am looking forward to it. At this point the offense can only go up. They are at the bottom
October 2nd, 2026 at 12:36 pm
The odds are likely against Greenway. However there is hope and it’s on the Bucs defense to s
October 2nd, 2026 at 12:40 pm
It’s up to the defense to pressure Love and rattle him constantly like the Browns did against the Bucs.
October 2nd, 2026 at 12:43 pm
Lean on the coaching??? Yikes. That hasn’t worked for us in almost a year now.
0-4 is almost a guarantee. Then perhaps we can inspire true change where it counts.
Bowles and Licht should be fired immediately after the loss.
They constructed and coached this dumpster fire.
October 2nd, 2026 at 12:47 pm
C’mon Zac. Give the rookie some help.
October 2nd, 2026 at 12:57 pm
If Robinson gets creative, the O line protects well and opens holes in the run game, and Daniels can execute, then perhaps things will go good this week. If not then…
October 2nd, 2026 at 1:05 pm
This kid Daniels is being presented with the opportunity of a lifetime. Most think he will fail including me. But uncanny things happen in this NFl. He could light it up IF..IF..The players around him play lights out. You never know. But I do not think so. Make a LIE out of all us Daniels. BALL OUT.
October 2nd, 2026 at 1:14 pm
Jack Burton Mercer … ‘Yeah but I have no faith in Robinson to be able to manage Daniels to a win.’
IF you researched the Falcons’ 2025 wins with Robinson as their OC, you’d see something interesting. In their 8 wins the Falcons ran the ball 253 times (for 1205 yds … 4.8 YPC), passed it 233 times (for 1773 tds … 7.6 Y/R), and took 15 sacks in those 8 wins. That means that Robinson had the Falcons’ offense RUN THE BALL on 50.5% of their plays in those 8 wins. In the 9 games that they lost however, they ran it 224 times, passed it 312 & took 11 sacks. That means that they ran the ball considerably LESS (slightly less than on 41% of the offensive plays).
My guess is that Zac Robinson is a LOT BETTER at scripting running plays than he is at developing passing plays. Their rushing attack finished #8 last year, while their passing attack finished #19.
Right now the Bucs rushing attack isn’t very potent. We’ve only run it 66 times in 3 games, but for a total of 283 rushing yards (4.3 YPC average). What we obviously need to do against the Packers is RUN THE BALL. I’d use all 3 RBs to do that, PLUS create some designed run plays for Daniels. We can beat these guys.
October 2nd, 2026 at 1:22 pm
It will take a Herculean effort to win on Sunday. I don’t see it happening…even against an almost equally inept team. There’s a malaise over the franchise currently…almost if Bowles & Licht are Schleprocks. The owners who much prefer their soccer club…aren’t blameless in this debacle.
October 2nd, 2026 at 1:23 pm
“infomeplease Says:
October 2nd, 2026 at 12:57 pm
If Robinson gets creative, the O line protects well and opens holes in the run game, and Daniels can execute, then perhaps things will go good this week. If not then…”
And if my aunt had a johnson, she’d be my uncle…
October 2nd, 2026 at 1:31 pm
Our main advantage is that other teams are surprised by how much bowls stinks at coaching.
October 2nd, 2026 at 1:47 pm
Pound the rock against Green Bay
I know we don’t have a Bijan Robinson
But pound that pigskin anyway, then hit them with some play action
Run Jalon Daniels on some design run plays
There’s a huge difference between design run plays
And a happy feet QB running the football
Design run plays, everyone is blocking, creating run lanes
When a happy feet QB run, no one is blocking for him
Because it’s a design pass play
October 2nd, 2026 at 1:49 pm
Main advantage is that Jalon Daniels is in a better mental and physical state than Baker Mayfield.
Also, Daniels isn’t 2-10 in his last 12 games and getting accustomed to losing.
Daniels will spark the offense and get us back to winning. And he should remain our QB1 if/when he does that.
Just like Brady never came back out once he took over for Bledsoe. Daniels should keep the job if he succeeds where Baker couldn’t
October 2nd, 2026 at 1:55 pm
55 million reasons why Jalon won’t remain the starter once Baker is ready.
0-4 is coming!
October 2nd, 2026 at 1:56 pm
StormyInFl Says:
And if my aunt had a johnson, she’d be my uncle…
***************
Depending on what part of Ybor City you walk down she’d be both.
October 2nd, 2026 at 2:01 pm
Green Bay Sucks. The Bucs Suck
It’s a return to the bay of pig days
The last 3 weeks, and the last 14 games have proven that the Bucs aren’t a good team anymore. They aren’t fighting for anything but a top 3 draft pick
This teams best players are old and in decline.
Jason Lichts absolute negligent of both lines has destroyed the teams chance of being competitive.
We need to jettison the old players who may still have Value, and Stockpile draft pucks.
Fire Licht, Bowles, Bowles Staff. The waterboys, etc.
Build around Mayfield,Wirfs, Irving, Goedeke, and our young CBs.
Get a real Coach in the building- who can actually improve young players, instead of ruining them.
Get a GM who hasn’t read his press is press, and thinks he’s a Oline genius.
He’s not. Neither are the empty heads who thought he was.
This is an old, bad team, that is irrelevant.
That’s the truth, even if we beat the equally bad Packers Sunday.
We will still suck.
Can I change my prediction from 5-12, to 3-14?
It’s gonna be a long Season
October 2nd, 2026 at 2:04 pm
All gloom and doom aside, I’m just rooting for the kid to have a good game. I’m going into it assuming that by the end of the day they’ll be 0-4, but that’s only part of the story.
This isn’t a good team he’s slinging it for, but can the kid avoid turnovers and find open receivers? Can he execute the offense, such as it is, and not do any worse than what we saw last week?
If the Bucs lose it won’t be Daniels’ fault. They could easily lose even if he balls out and throws 3TDs. That’s just the state of it right now. Watch the game, pull for the kid – and whatever else goes down is beside the point. Bowles clock is ticking and nothing is going to stop it from hitting zero on January 11th.
October 2nd, 2026 at 2:05 pm
If baker couldn’t get the offense working, the odds are very slim an undrafted rookie can