2-Point Conversion: Baker Mayfield Will Be Bucs’ Starting QB

It’s time for Scott Reynolds’ post-game 2-Point Conversion column, which features two big statements, two probing questions and two bold predictions. Once again the Bucs rested nearly all of their starters against the Jets in the team’s second preseason game. Kyle Trask played longer than expected and he played well. But the big news coming out of Tampa Bay’s 13-6 win over the Jets in New Jersey is the fact that Baker Mayfield didn’t play – and seems poised to be the Bucs’ starting quarterback.

2 BIG STATEMENTS

STATEMENT 1: Kyle Trask Improves, But Baker Mayfield Is Bucs’ Starting QB

Todd Bowles didn’t come out and name Baker Mayfield the Bucs’ starting quarterback on Saturday night in Tampa Bay’s 13-6 win over the New York Jets.

He didn’t have to. Bowles’ actions spoke volumes.

Mayfield, who was in uniform, was originally supposed to play in the second quarter and relieve starter Kyle Trask against the Jets. But Bowles said the team wanted to keep Trask in and play the entire first half the way the game was going.

Once the Bucs subbed out the only two starting offensive linemen who started the game – right tackle Luke Goedeke and right guard Cody Mauch – Bowles said he didn’t want to insert Mayfield into the game. As a result, Mayfield never took the field against New York – even when third-string quarterback John Wolford was knocked out of the game with a neck injury that caused him to be carried off the field on a stretcher.

Instead, Trask was reinserted into the game in the third quarter and played until the final whistle. That was an immediate tell that Mayfield will be the Bucs’ Week 1 starter at Minnesota, as Pewter Report posted on X midway through the second quarter.

The Bucs’ quarterback competition served its purpose this summer. Trask pushed Mayfield to become better in Tampa Bay’s new offense, as the veteran generated more big plays in the passing game. And Trask certainly improved in training camp, even tightening the competition in the second week.

Trask’s improvement was on display against the Jets where he completed 20-of-28 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown. If the Bucs have to turn to Trask at any time during the season to relieve Mayfield – either due to injury or ineffectiveness – Bowles and offensive coordinator Dave Canales have to feel much better about how Trask would perform after his extended action against the Jets.

STATEMENT 2: Rookies Juice Up Bucs’ Offense

Bucs general manager Jason Licht, as well as head coach Todd Bowles, have gone on record saying how excited they are about this team’s rookie class. Not just the draft picks, but also the undrafted free agents. Several rookies stepped up on Saturday night against the Jets, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

Right guard Cody Mauch, the team’s second-round pick, improved from his NFL debut a week ago and played a much better, cleaner game against New York.

Wide receiver Trey Palmer continues to shine. Just days after smoking Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner in the team’s joint practice, Palmer, the team’s sixth-round pick, caught his second touchdown in the preseason, hauling in a 33-yard strike from Kyle Trask, while tipping the ball to himself and keeping it away from the cornerback in the end zone.

It was Palmer’s only catch of the night, but it was a big one. With Russell Gage out for the year due to a knee injury suffered on Wednesday, Palmer looks like he’s in strong contention to fill the WR3 role this year.

As big as Palmer’s catch was, undrafted free agent Rakim Jarrett made three big receptions – all more than 20 yards downfield. The sure-handed Jarrett has come on strong in training camp and had a heck of a preseason debut after missing last week’s game with a groin injury. Jarrett looks like he’ll make the team, finishing with three catches for a game-high 84 yards.

“He made some great catches,” Bowles said. “I don’t know what he’s doing when he’s trying to jump over a guy. We don’t teach that, but he made some great catches. He showed he’s a very good athlete. We liked what we saw.”

The Bucs’ ground game has been slow to get moving this preseason, but that changed in a big way when Sean Tucker, an undrafted free agent, raced 26 yards on fourth-and-1 to set up Palmer’s touchdown pass on the next play.

Tucker is the fastest Bucs back and finished the game with 37 yards on seven carries for a healthy 5.3 average. The rookie also had three catches for 18 yards, including a nifty 15-yard gain on a screen.

On defense, the Bucs rested third-round outside linebacker YaYa Diaby and rookie inside linebacker SirVocea Dennis, the team’s fifth-round pick. But edge rusher Markees Watts made his presence felt despite registering just one tackle. The explosive Watts drew two holding penalties by Jets tight end Zach Kuntz and had a sack negated on a neutral zone penalty by Charles Snowden.

2 PROBING QUESTIONS

QUESTION 1: What Area Did The Bucs Show The Most Improvement In?

Actually, it was three areas – penalties, tackling, and takeaways. The Bucs really cleaned up some of their problem areas from last week’s 27-17 loss to the Steelers. That game was quite sloppy, as the Bucs had 12 penalties for 127 yards, missed a slew of tackles, and had two turnovers on offense while forcing two on defense.

On Saturday night versus New York, Tampa Bay only had seven penalties for 67 yards, cleaned up the tackling on defense, and won the turnover battle 3-0.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles was pleased with his team cutting down on the mental mistakes and penalties in Tampa Bay’s 13-6 win and was happy to see improvement in all three of the aforementioned areas.

“All three, actually,” Bowles said. “We want to keep getting turnovers. That gives our offense a chance. Tackling has to improve in the preseason, hopefully, it gets better next week. It was better, but it can be even better than that. You want the turnovers – always want the turnovers – and we took care of the football, so that’s important for us.”

Second-year cornerback Zyon McCollum, who missed several tackles in the preseason opener, only missed one against the Jets and finished the game with four stops, including three in the first quarter alone. McCollum was more disciplined in protecting the sidelines and made some stout tackles before leaving in the second quarter.

Bowles praised McCollum’s improvements as a tackler after the game.

“I thought Zyon improved from last week, which was big for him,” Bowles said.

The Bucs’ defense forced three takeaways against the Jets. Inside linebacker J.J. Russell kicked things off in the second quarter by forcing a fumble that was recovered by outside linebacker Anthony Nelson.

Nickel cornerback Dee Delaney made a great interception in the red zone in the third quarter, and had another interception in the fourth quarter wiped out due to a penalty. Delaney appears to have the inside track for the starting nickel job, as rookie Christian Izien did not play versus the Jets due to an injury.

Outside linebacker Charles Snowden forced a fumble on the Jets’ last drive of the game. Cornerback Anthony Chesley, who is in contention with rookie Keenan Isaac for the final spot on the depth chart, recovered the ball to preserve the win.

QUESTION 2: What Does John Wolford’s Injury Mean For The Bucs?

Not much, really – other than the fact that the Bucs will have to risk injury to either Baker Mayfield or Kyle Trask in next week’s preseason finale against the visiting Baltimore Ravens. Typically, the third-string quarterback plays more in the final preseason game to ensure that an injury to the starter or primary backup doesn’t occur.

But when John Wolford suffered a neck injury on a sack after going 4-of-4 for 57 yards against the Jets, that forces Todd Bowles’ hand to have to play both Mayfield and Trask against the Ravens.

One of them, likely Trask, will have to finish the game behind a third-string offensive line in the fourth quarter, which is not ideal.

“Well, Kyle finished the game last night behind the same [backup offensive] line, so that’s out the window there,” Bowles said. “Whoever has to play is going to play and we’ll go from there.”

The good news for Wolford and the Bucs is that he accompanied the team home on the plane after the game and his medical tests looked good. Wolford is expected to be Tampa Bay’s third-string QB this year, likely on the practice squad. Now the Bucs must hope that neither Mayfield nor Trask gets injured in the preseason finale.

2 BOLD PREDICTIONS

PREDICTION 1: Chase McLaughlin Will Be The Bucs’ Kicker

Not only did Saturday’s game decide the Bucs’ starting quarterback battle, but it looks like Tampa Bay’s kicking battle between John McLaughlin and Rodrigo Blankenship has also come to an end. Blankenship, who was perfect in the preseason opener against the Steelers last week, missed two field goals against the Jets. His first was from 55 yards and that’s forgivable because of the distance.

But when Blankenship doinked a 32-yarder off the left upright in the fourth quarter that likely handed McLaughlin the job.

“I’ll look at the tape – you know you have to make them to be in it,” Bowles said of the kicker competition following Saturday night’s game. “You’ve seen what you’ve seen, but we’ve got one more game and we’ll go from there.”

Blankenship made a 35-yarder against the Jets and also made a 35-yard field goal against the Steelers last week. McLaughlin made both of the Bucs’ extra point attempts in last week’s game, as well as the extra point after Trey Palmer’s touchdown right before halftime. McLaughlin also made his only attempt against the Jets, a 48-yarder, to cement his lead in the competition by going 4-of-4 on three extra points and one field goal in the preseason.

PREDICTION 2: Baker Mayfield Will Start vs. The Ravens (And The Vikings)

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles will likely start Baker Mayfield on Saturday with the starting receivers, tight ends, offensive line, and Rachaad White. How long Mayfield plays – whether it’s one or two series or whether it’s the whole first quarter – will be determined later.

I asked Bowles if Mayfield will start on Saturday, but he was non-committal – just like he’s been about Mayfield being the starter for Week 1.

“We’ll meet as a staff and we’ll let you guys (the media) know who’s playing, how they’re playing, when we’re playing them once we meet on it,” Bowles said.

But we already know the answer, don’t we?