Buccaneers' Todd Bowles Gives Thoughts on Quarterback Play at Rookie Minicamp

Here's how Tampa Bay's UDFA quarterbacks performed to kick off rookie minicamp.

Kansas Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels (6) passes the ball against Iowa State | Nirmalendu Majumdar/ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have plenty of defensive prospects they're looking to evaluate at rookie minicamp, and they got a little taste of what's to come on Day 1 in that regard. But they also have two offensive skill position players they drafted in Georgia State wide receiver Ted Hurst and LSU tight end Bauer Sharp, and they're certainly interested to see how both fare against their peers.

To showcase that, though, both players need a quarterback to throw them passes. At rookie minicamp, those quarterbacks are Kansas' Jalon Daniels and Virginia's Chandler Morris, and they both got some playing time on Day 1. Daniels is an athletic QB project who shone in 2022 but struggled to match that play in his final two seasons, and Morris is a quarterback with sound fundamentals who played for four different teams over his college career.

It was an up-and-down day for both on Day 1, but according to Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles, that's understandable — and despite that, he still had plenty of nice things to say about both UDFAs.

Todd Bowles praises rookie QBs with tough task at rookie minicamp

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles during the 2026 NFL Annual League Meeting | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Bowles mentioned that being a rookie quarterback at rookie minicamp is tough. There's plenty of offensive install to do with players that they have no chemistry with, and they also have to help those players line up and do their job while they're still learning theirs.

"I think that's the toughest position Day 1 to try to read and get a handle on because they have to learn so much," Bowles said. "Not just their job, but everybody else's, to get them lined up and audible. That's tough... You get a whole bunch of install on Day 1 as a quarterback, then you go out and practice it with 11 new guys that you don't know if you're on the same page, that's gonna be a little difficult."

Todd Bowles on the quarterbacks here at rookie minicamp, Jalon Daniels and Chandler Morris — he says that learning install and playing with an entirely new cast makes playing QB at rookie minicamp difficult, but they’re doing well: pic.twitter.com/bPINApFgJ3

— River Wells (@riverhwells) May 8, 2026

Because of this, Daniels and Morris did struggle a bit on Day 1 of rookie minicamp. But it wasn't all bad — Daniels ended Day 1 with a nice pass to Ted Hurst that could have gone for a touchdown in a regular game, dropping it right in his hands at the front-right pylon.

Bowles said that as Daniels and Morris take more reps, they could make more and more plays just like that.

"[They're] very bright, [They're] very athletic, love [their] attitude, both of them," Bowles said. "They know where to go with the ball. As they get more comfortable, you'll start seeing them make more plays.

Daniels and Morris will get another chance to impress on Day 2 on rookie minicamp on Saturday. It should be interesting to see what the Bucs do with both quarterbacks after that.

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