Rob Gronkowski knows the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in unfamiliar territory.
The Buccaneers are accustomed to winning, and they had made five consecutive playoff appearances -- including a Super Bowl win during Gronk's tenure -- between 2020 and 2024. They narrowly missed the playoffs last season on a tiebreaker and entered the season with expectations of once again winning the NFC South.
However, they're 0-3 this season, and they've been mediocre across the board. They rank 19th in scoring and 23rd in points allowed, and they're now without Baker Mayfield for at least three weeks due to a thumb injury. That means undrafted rookie free agent Jalon Daniels will take the mantle for the Buccaneers starting this week against the Green Bay Packers.
As
the Buccaneers look for their first win of the season, Gronkowski said Daniels could give them a boost in Mayfield's absence, given how much of an unknown he is.
"Yeah, they can," said Gronkowski of the Buccaneers being able to stay afloat with Daniels in a one-on-one interview. "You don't know what they're going to have with Jalen Daniels. They really don't. It's very tricky. Tricky saying there's Jayden Daniels (the Washington Commanders quarterback) and there's Jalen Daniels now. So a lot of people are going to be confused in the NFL this week coming up, especially fantasy teams, and seeing him on the wire. You're going to be like, 'What the heck? Who's this? Who, Jayden Daniels? How did he get on the Buccaneers?' It's already throwing me off. But no one knows what he has. Literally, I don't know what to expect. I mean, this could actually be a spark for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers."
Daniels unexpectedly won the backup quarterback job after a strong training camp and preseason over veteran Jake Browning. Players and coaches spoke glowingly of the Kansas Jayhawks product after he went 27-for-44 for 239 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in the preseason.
Kenneth Gainwell compared Daniels' arm talent to that of his former Philadelphia Eagles teammate, Jalen Hurts. He said Daniels plays a lot like Lamar Jackson and Michael Vick.
“I think he plays like a Mike Vick or a new school Lamar Jackson type of guy,” said Gainwell . “But I see a lot of skill sets in his arm talent, like a little Jalen Hurts arm talent. He can throw the ball down the field. Everyone know Jalen can throw the ball down the field real good, but he’s very talented in that part.”
We'll see what Daniels brings to the table against the Packers, but it's clear that the Buccaneers' hopes largely will hinge on the play of the undrafted rookie.
Gronkowski is keeping busy in his post-NFL career with his analyst work with FOX. But he's also keeping busy in other ways -- he'll be teaming up with eBay Live seller and host PCBHobby for the New York Comic Con to tackle the comics, cards and collectibles hobby. The former Buccaneers tight end will geek out on Marvel-related topics with fans before the theatrical release of Doomsday.
"This is the Gronk Geeks Out series number two," said Gronkowski. "I did the first one at The National with Gronk geeking out, just ripping cards and being on eBay Live. And now we're doing it at New York Comic Con on October 9, and it's going to be a special experience because I don't have much of a background in comics, but I'm learning now. I worked with PCB Hobby from Florida. They taught me a lot about comics, how to grade the books, what comic books are all about."
"I didn't know that the movies were all based off of comics as well, comic books that were written from back in the day, so I'm just learning as we go," Gronkowski continued. "But the experience and and just how fun eBay Live has been, and the experience of being on eBay Live is just a thrill every time. Even if I don't know much of what's going on, I learn as we go, bring the personality to the table, and I'm excited to be on my first Comic Con event as well in New York City."
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Rob Gronkowski on if Buccaneers can contend with Jalon Daniels at quarterback
