More Jake Browning Bashing
July 12th, 2026
Chucky isn’t feeling the backup.
A Buccaneers legend has joined the chorus.
Joe has struggled to find people outside One Buc Palace impressed by the Bucs signing former Bengals QB Jake Browning to back up Baker Mayfield.
Browning, 30, had a rough time in Weeks 2 through 5 with the Bengals last season. His performance sent Cincinnati scrambling to trade for Joe Flacco. (Joe wonders whether a knock or two on Browning will be heard by — or through — Flacco during the upcoming Quarterback series on Netflix.)
Why did the Bucs want Browning?
Well, Joe is confident the Bucs very much like the Browning-Mayfield fit in quarterback meetings and their scouts also feel good about his film. Joe hopes the latter assessment remains a mystery because Mayfield stays healthy.
The Bucs also liked Browning’s salary. He only cost $1.3 million this season. That’s near the NFL minimum for a veteran quarterback.
Jon Gruden seems to think the Bucs got what they paid for: not much, so he told WDAE radio on Friday afternoon.
“They don’t have a backup [QB] in place that could, I think, keep the Buccaneers in contention to win the division let alone a championship,” Gruden said without naming Browning.
And for those wondering, yes, Gruden is very aware Browning is the Bucs’ backup QB. Joe can state that with certainty because on Friday morning, Joe and Ira Kaufman hung out with Gruden at his Tampa lair and recorded a soon-to-be-heard episode of the Ira Kaufman Podcast.
Ever since Bucco Bruce Arians arrived in 2019, the Bucs have had little-to-no interest in paying for a high-quality backup QB. Blaine Gabbert, Kyle Trask and Teddy Bridgewater all were hovering near the NFL minimum salary.
To be fair to Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht, a backup quarterback has not started a game for the Bucs since 2018.
And “this Joe” does not believe Baker Mayfield would have sat out a game to heal in any of his three seasons if the Bucs had a better backup.
Ira Kaufman Talks Different Baker Mayfield Contract Angle, Damning NFL Stat Reveal, Rueben Bain Rally, O-Line Date, And More
July 12th, 2026 at 9:05 am
The other two QBs sound like they have higher upside. Bazelak and Daniels. Browning is a bum no idea why they even signed him.
July 12th, 2026 at 9:08 am
Wow….and Gruden LOVES everyone too!
July 12th, 2026 at 9:11 am
Licht loves his Dollar-Store free agent pickups. Sure, he needs cap space to re-sign Vita and Baker, sure he’s got a bunch of cheap rookies on defense this year, but REALLY – Browning? Maybe our new QB coach, Chandler Whitmer, can work a miracle as he did pretty well with Mendoza at Indiana.
July 12th, 2026 at 9:25 am
This roster is in shambles. Not only are some starters subpar but the backups are bad too and are unable to be coached up. But to be fair not many teams are winning with backup QBs, that is until they play the Bucs defense then they career days. Oh well…having a terrible backup QB is another genius strategy in roster building by the GM and HC.
July 12th, 2026 at 9:32 am
Don’t underestimate the affect circumstances could have on this kind of decision. Given that the team is negotiating with Baker and (regardless of opinion of Baker) everyone seems to agree the team wants to sign him, here is the mission:
Sign a backup qb with starting experience who has won some games, get him at a reasonable salary, but be careful the story for months isn’t “are the Bucs sending a message to Baker?”
July 12th, 2026 at 9:36 am
The starting roster is excellent. It’s very tough to have an extremely deep football team and also have premium starters.
July 12th, 2026 at 9:48 am
Vicious catch 22 circle by having a cheap backup QB to save money hoping baker won’t get hurt. Isn’t Baker hurt every year, yet plays through it with below average performances? How about we spend more for a quality backup and help Baker make better business decisions – like sit him if he’s looking hurt.
July 12th, 2026 at 9:56 am
They traded for Flacco because browning couldn’t effectively get the ball to his elite weapons.
Besides the wife, which is a considerable achievement, i don’t think he’s accomplished much.
July 12th, 2026 at 10:01 am
Can they get worse than Trask? They did. Can they get worse than Bridgewater? Yep.
The diminishing quality of the backup QB is appalling.
Licht, if Baker goes down, you do, too.
July 12th, 2026 at 10:02 am
Back when Tom Moore was with Indianapolis and Peyton, a reporter asked him “why don’t you give the backup QB more reps?”
(Moore) “Because of Peyton goes down we’re f***ed, and we don’t PRACTICE f***ed”
July 12th, 2026 at 10:40 am
Which Backup QB on the market besides maybe Flacco would we have signed? As I recall it was slim pickings. Resign Teddy? Rodgers? Not for backup duty. Daniel Jones? Achilles and all. Mariotta? He never really showed this fan much unless it was against us. Where’s Jaymiss? They still have Kyles number?
Go Bucs!
July 12th, 2026 at 10:44 am
Jimbob! very capt.obvious like ,that’s great how you asked and answered your question..However ill take the Buccaneers situation over the hapless Raiders situation all day! UGH!
July 12th, 2026 at 10:53 am
I like that Daniels kid. He has a huge upside. Once he learns the system, and matures, I think he would be a feasible backup.
July 12th, 2026 at 10:58 am
“ Joe and Ira Kaufman hung out with Gruden at his Tampa lair and recorded a soon-t0-be-heard episode of the Ira Kaufman Podcast.”
WOW! This will be a must listen!!! Please make sure to announce this several times when it drops.
July 12th, 2026 at 10:59 am
Someone do a screen grab. Floormatt says the starting roster is excellent.
That takes one excuse away from Toad Bowels and his lousy Swiss cheese scheme.
Licht has zero ability to asses the QB position. Unless their name is Tom Brady.
He’s the guy that brought us Jameis Winston and Kyle Trask. Both were huge busts.
Meanwhile John Lynch drafted Mr Irrelevant and Brock Purdy has been to two NFC title games and a SB in four short years.
If you stand on someone’s shoulders that doesn’t make you tall.
Mike knows.
July 12th, 2026 at 12:13 pm
should have got americas qb as a back up he has had really good games
July 12th, 2026 at 12:21 pm
I’m expecting Browning and Daniels fighting it out in those worthless preseason games. Bazelak, too. This hotshot young QB coach, with help from Zac, oughta have us a competent backup this year. I get the feeling this Daniels kid has some upside. It’s these coaches job to find it.
July 12th, 2026 at 12:57 pm
i swear griff or traskie would be okay… 🙂
browning, not so much……..lol
July 12th, 2026 at 1:00 pm
your back up qb generally says a whole lot about what mgmt. and ownership thinks of their franchise…
and if they are in the running to truly compete for a superbowl
July 12th, 2026 at 1:03 pm
Lmao what a ridiculous statement. If a QB can help win a team a championship it is unlikely that they are a backup QB just sitting on some teams roster. If your backup QB could win you a game or two in spot up duty that’s considered a win
July 12th, 2026 at 4:08 pm
I agree 1,000 percent with Gruden. It’s why I will be surprised if Baker comes out of any games this year.
July 12th, 2026 at 4:10 pm
Bee Says
“This roster is in shambles. Not only are some starters subpar but the backups are bad too…”
I totally disagree with the entire roster being in shambles. Only the backups for the QB are.
I DO NOT believe the CB situation is even as bad as people seem to think. I believe in development.
July 12th, 2026 at 4:34 pm
I think Licht is a really good GM. But lynchmob makes a good point.
The glazers need to develop not only a qb but a head coach.
Both of our championships (and I’m not complaining) were the result of having to buy a HC and qb.
July 12th, 2026 at 6:11 pm
@328….snitches get stitches!!! WTF! Look up “throw yourself under the bus” Your photo ( lol) !! Will be on display!!! I gotta stop lololololol!!!
July 12th, 2026 at 6:21 pm
I’ll take Jake ! He’s been on a team with one of the best!
July 12th, 2026 at 7:02 pm
Browning played pretty well 3 years ago when he started almost 1/2 the games for the Bengals….
So well that he was receiving accolades from national media….
I doubt he forgot how to play the game….
Lets wait and see what he looks like in TC and pre-season games before dumping all over the guy….
July 12th, 2026 at 8:06 pm
I guess he’s no Bruce Gradkowski, then.
July 12th, 2026 at 8:12 pm
It’s odd to me that nobody remembers that Jason Licht was rated as one of the worst GM’s in football and about to be run out of town before he managed to talk Bruce Arians into coming here. It was also a major gaff to make sure they just signed EVERYONE after the Super Bowl. That’s not how you build a great roster..This roster is really nothing special, especially on the defensive side.
July 13th, 2026 at 5:55 am
Our whole QB room, SUCKS………
July 13th, 2026 at 6:21 am
We need a better backup head coach.
July 13th, 2026 at 6:49 am
Pretty much no team has a starting caliber back up qb. They don’t exist. Already looking at 50 mil for Baker. Cheap back up is the only way. Bazelak is horrible. We will see what Daniel’s can do but the odds of not getting drafted to starting in the NFL is 0. Every team passed on him for a reason.
July 13th, 2026 at 7:10 am
I wish Gruden was our HC. He wouldn’t put up with “Bucloaf” and our coming season would look much brighter…….
July 13th, 2026 at 4:32 pm
We all know Baker has a very very fragile ego, and can’t handle any sort of real competition, so they get him these nobodies so Baker and his cult can sleep easy at night.
July 13th, 2026 at 4:36 pm
As for Browning, it is worth noting prior to last year, he was pretty highly thought of as a backup. In 2023 he went 4-3 as a starter, and had a 60.8 QBR. To put that in perspective, that QBR is higher than 2 of Baker’s 3 years in Tampa.
Last year, in fairness to Browning, that team was a disaster. I watched some of the Bengals games, and he had zero time to get the ball out, and the scheme was terrible. I know Flacco came in and did well, and what he said after the game might have been why – he said he had no idea what the scheme was supposed to be, and instead just had WRs run simple routes and he got rid of the ball as quick as possible. As Flacco learned the offense, his production went down, which might tell you something about the scheme there.
Not saying Browning is good – I have no idea how he’ll look in Tampa. But I do know, with 100% certainty, he’s better than Teddy Bridgewater.
July 13th, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Oh no not the back up QB!! Gotta love the dog days of summer where things like 4th string RBs, 5th string CBs, 3rd string guards and backup QBs are all the rage.
Just about any team that loses their starting QB for the season is screwed.
The Bengals were a disaster after Burrow got hurt, both with Flacco and Browning. They won 4 games, 2 of those were against the mighty Dolphins and Cardinals.
If Baker gets hurt and misses extended time, then let’s hope the team loses out, gets a top 5 pick and replace the coaching staff and draft a QB in this coming loaded QB draft. Last thing this team needs is to wn 7-8 games, miss the playoffs and end up with anither middle of the draft pick.
Back up QB…pffffffft
July 13th, 2026 at 11:51 pm
I agree, a higher caliber backup would have given the Bucs peace of mind if the backup had to step in the event Myfield had medical issues.not sure Browning is the backup guy.