Sitting at 1-2 with a litany of questions, the Green Bay Packers could use all the help they can get. A date with the 0-3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers seems like the perfect elixir, especially without star quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles revealed that Mayfield suffered a dislocated right (throwing) thumb in the club's 23-16 loss to the Minnesota Vikings and will likely miss at least three weeks. That leaves undrafted free agent rookie Jalon Daniels as the next man up when the Packers come to town in Week 4.
Statistically speaking, Mayfield has been one of the league's worst passers early this season. However, he's been one of the league's better options at the position since landing in Tampa Bay in 2023. The downgrade from him to Daniels is hard to overstate, and the Packers can't afford to blow a prime opportunity to get back on track.
Packers catch a massive break vs. Buccaneers with Baker Mayfield injury
With Tampa Bay trailing in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, Mayfield tried to evade pressure and make something out of nothing. He eventually took a massive hit from multiple Vikings defenders and was down in clear pain, with the broadcast picking up his screams of agony. Daniels was subsequently called into action for the final drive and didn't complete a pass in three attempts, including a game-ending interception.
While we never root for injury, Mayfield's unfortunate outlook is undeniably a massive break for a Packers squad that could just as easily be winless. Frankly, they probably don't defeat the New York Jets without a costly clock-management blunder from the opposing head coach, Aaron Glenn.
Facing Daniels instead of Mayfield is a game-changing development. The Buccaneers face a significant drop-off from the starter to the backup at the most important spot on the roster. Green Bay should be favored on the road, and there's no margin for error.
The rival Vikings already built a two-game lead atop the NFC North standings. Two of the Packers' next three contests after Tampa Bay are divisional showdowns (the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions). Handling business in a softer matchup with Daniels is pivotal.
Where did Jalon Daniels come from?
Football (and life) can be as much about opportunity as anything else, as Daniels is experiencing in real time. He went from not hearing his name called in the 2026 draft to being under center for the Bucs within months. Life comes at you fast, huh?
"Who is Jalon Daniels?" you may be asking. Well, that's a great question, and his story is pretty interesting.
Daniels put himself on the map in 2022, guiding a lowly Kansas college football program to its first bowl game appearance in over a decade. A back issue derailed him the following campaign, and he didn't really regain his footing until 2025.
As a sixth-year senior, Daniels threw for 2,531 yards, 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions, and he added 404 yards and four more scores as a runner. His dual-threat skill set has certainly piqued Tampa Bay's interest. The Lawndale, California, native impressively beat out veteran Jake Browning for the team's No. 2 QB job in training camp.
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