Jalon Daniels Wins Bucs QB2 Job, and the Rays' Sweep The Padres & Forever Home Gets Real

Rick Stroud and Steve Versnick dig into one of the more improbable quarterback stories in franchise history: undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels beating out Jake Browning and Connor Bazelak to become Baker Mayfield's backup. Rick traces just how rare this is — the last rookie the Bucs handed the QB2 job to was Mike Glennon back in 2013 — and walks through how a three-star recruit out of Kansas who went undrafted turned heads in joint practices against the Jets and Chiefs, then got an extended (and rocky) look against Jacksonville's twos and threes before locking down the job anyway. They debate what the call says about Browning, whether the coaching staff may have stumbled onto Baker Mayfield's eventual successor given how similar their games are, and run through the rest of the roster cuts — including Chris Braswell's release and moves along both lines — before previewing the two-week runway to the season opener at Cincinnati.

Then it's over to the Rays, who somehow won two of the strangest games of their season against the Padres — a shortstop's non-contact knee injury on an errant throw home that flipped one game, and a bizarre would-be series-ending catch-and-drop in left field that got ruled a home run and reignited the "what actually is a catch" debate — before pulling out the extra-innings finale on a Liam Hicks throw that nailed a runner at third. The sweep pushes Tampa Bay to 82-54, four and a half games up on the Yankees. Rick and Steve also dig into the latest on the Rays' "forever home": with Tampa City Council and Hillsborough County’s approval in hand, the next steps are bond filings (30 to 90 days) and prepping Hillsborough Community College for portable classrooms, plus why this ownership group's commitment to staying in Tampa feels different than the Stu Sternberg era ever did.

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