The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play the Pittsburgh Steelers as part of their preseason games. After a joint practice between the teams, coach Todd Bowles said all but two starters would play in the game, that included quarterback Baker Mayfield. However, now it seems like there’s been an audible called by the head coach that could impact the quarterback.
Reported by Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, Bowles will now sit Baker Mayfield after reviewing the joint practice tape. Reports of that practice state that Mayfield had plenty of success, especially when targetting Mike Evans, who will also sit out of the game.
Mayfield didn’t play in the first preseason game against the Titans, and now, he won’t play vs. the Steelers either. This means the backup who starts will have an opportunity to play with some of the team’s stars and show off.
Who are Baker Mayfield’s backups?
Since the Bake-show won’t suit up, Bowles will have to look to his other options. Kyle Trask, Teddy Bridgewater and Connor Bazelak are the other signal-callers on the Buccaneers depth chart.
Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater #16 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looks on in the second half during the NFL Preseason 2025 game on August 09, 2025 in Tampa, Florida.
Trask was a second round pick on the 2021 NFL Draft. However, the Bucs recently signed Teddy Bridgewater back from retirement. We could perfectly see both of them having plenty of snaps against the Steelers. As for Connor Bazelak, he is an undrafted rookie that will also see some reps.
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What Buccaneers receivers will play?
Mike Evans won’t suit up and Chris Godwin is still recovering from an ankle injury. The receivers that will play are likely to be Jalen McMillan, rookie Emeka Egbuka and Trey Palmer. It’s also likely that tight end Cade Otton will have some snaps.
After they come off, Sterling Shepard, rookie Tez Johnson, Rakim Jarrett and Ryan Miller will step onto the field. Shepard has been a solid presence in the NFL for quite some time now, while the others are young players trying to make a name for themselves.
