The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in quite a predicament at the quarterback position.

Wallowing in a massive hole after starting the season 0-3, the Bucs' chances at getting back to the playoffs are already hanging by a thread.

Their path to the postseason became exponentially more challenging after Baker Mayfield dislocated the thumb on his throwing hand late in Tampa's excruciating loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Mayfield is expected to miss at least the next three weeks, forcing the team to put its season in the hands of undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels, whose impressive play during the preseason won him the QB2 job over veteran backup Jake Browning.

The Bucs took an enormous risk by giving the backup job to an undrafted rookie with zero NFL experience, and now will see whether that risk leads to any reward.

The task Daniels is facing is an almost impossible one for any backup QB, let alone an undrafted rookie. What can the Bucs expect from Daniels over the next few games?

Is Tampa making the right call by handing the keys to the offense to Daniels when the team has so little room for error? Or will the Bucs regret not taking a chance on a quarterback who was a top-10 pick just two years ago?

I’m talking about J.J. McCarthy, who was once seen as the savior for the Vikings team that just beat the Bucs on Sunday. 

McCarthy is now in his third year and has yet to show he can become a reliable starting quarterback, let alone a franchise savior. 

He lost his entire rookie season to a preseason meniscus tear, which paved the way for Sam Darnold to revive his career. Darnold led Minnesota to a 14-3 record before stumbling in its first playoff game. 

Despite Darnold’s and the team’s success, the Vikings thought so highly of McCarthy that they allowed Darnold to walk in free agency. 

Darnold has since led the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl victory, while McCarthy hasn't been able to win the starting gig in Minnesota. He struggled mightily in his 10 games as a starter in 2025, leading the team to sign Kyler Murray in free agency. McCarthy was even demoted to third-string behind Carson Wentz. 

So, is McCarthy a bust? Or does he just need a change of scenery?

The New York Giants will soon find out. The Giants just traded a fifth-round pick for him after their own starter, Jaxon Dart, was lost for the season. 

The Giants have maintained that Jamie’s Winston will remain their starter, at least for now. If McCarthy still has any hope of living up to his draft pedigree, he should be able to take the job from a turnover-prone journeyman. 

Should the Bucs have taken a shot on McCarthy? If Daniel’s fails to keep Tampa within striking distance until Mayfield’s returns, it will be easy to say yes. If he wins a couple of games, then the organization will look like geniuses. 

Personally, I think it would have been wise for Tampa to have kicked the tires on McCarthy. 

At this point, what do the Bucs have to lose? Even if he spent a week or two as Daniels' backup, McCarthy would at least have given the team an option with starting experience and upside if Daniels proves he isn't ready for real action. 

The Bucs are in a very tough spot after Mayfield’s injury. 

They trusted Daniels enough to give him the backup job, but they probably didn’t expect him to see the field this quickly, if at all. 

And I’m sure Tampa didn’t expect its season to be on the brink of being lost after only three games. 

Whatever the Bucs did expect, that’s the situation they now find themselves in. 

And now Tampa is depending on an undrafted rookie to be the franchise savior, at least for a few games, that McCarthy was expected to be only two years ago. 

The Bucs will find out soon enough if sticking with Daniels was the right call, or if they will regret not taking a shot on a 2024 top-10 pick who may prove that he all he needed was a change of scenery.