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Buccaneers meet with hometown quarterback ahead of NFL Draft

Could the Tampa Bay Buccaneers be looking to bolster their quarterback room?
River Wells|
Texas State Bobcats quarterback Jordan McCloud throws a pass against the North Texas Mean Green.
Texas State Bobcats quarterback Jordan McCloud throws a pass against the North Texas Mean Green. | Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going into 2024 with the same offense, and that includes the quarterback room. Baker Mayfield will start for the team for his third year in a row, and veteran Kyle Trask will likely take the No. 2 spot ahead of former Tulane QB Michael Pratt.

Competition is never a bad thing, though, and the Bucs may be looking to introduce it to the room. The Bucs were at Texas State's Pro Day ahead of the NFL Draft and met with Bobcats quarterback Jordan McCloud, per NFL reporter Aaron Wilson. McCloud is a Tampa Bay native, so if the Bucs draft him, he could come back home to kickstart his NFL career.

McCloud played in college for a while, starting at USF in Tampa from 2018-20 where he started 17 games and threw 21 touchdowns and 10 picks with five more rushing touchdowns. He then transferred to the Arizona Wildcats and started just two games in 2021 before transferring out in 2022 and not playing football that year. He played a season at James Madison in perhaps his most successful year, netting 43 total touchdowns to 10 interceptions before transferring to Texas State for his final year in 2024, netting 37 total touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

McCloud has been in college for an astonishing seven years and is already 25 years old, so he's unlikely to hop in an NFL system and start. But the Bucs could be interested in him as a Day 3 pick, and if that's the case, he could compete with Trask and Pratt for a spot on the roster in his hometown.

Tampa Bay certainly has other needs, though, so only time will tell if they draft another signal caller at the end of April.

READ MORE: Mike Evans refused bigger deal from another team to continue legacy with Buccaneers

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River Wells
RIVER WELLS

River Wells is a sports journalist from St. Petersburg, Florida, who has covered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since 2023. He graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Florida in 2021. You can follow him on Twitter @riverhwells.

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