Rick Stroud and Steve Versnick recap today’s media avail with Bucs GM Jason Light, who revealed the call to make Jalen Daniels the number two quarterback was essentially made before he ever took a preseason snap — how quickly he absorbed the offense in practice sealed it, and his comeback wins over the Jets and Chiefs only confirmed it. Rick and Steve dig into just how rare, and risky, this is: undrafted rookie quarterbacks have started only 0.5% of possible games over the last decade, going a combined 10-19, and the move says as much about how unimpressed the Bucs were with the still-unsigned Jake Browning as it does about their faith in Daniels. They also cover the day's brutal roster churn — undrafted linebacker Caden Fordham made the 53, then was released hours later to open a spot for cornerback Kevin Knowles (claimed off waivers from the Chiefs), while pass rusher Jack Pyron, who'd racked up two sacks in the preseason finale alone and looked like their best defensive standout in camp, got scooped up by Kansas City. Plus, Emeka Egbuka and Jalen McMillan sat out a bonus practice (nothing to worry about, per the team), and Rick previews a potential shootout at Cincinnati against Joe Burrow, teasing — again — the \"weaker than you'd think\" position group he'll finally reveal tomorrow.
Then the Rays cruised past the Mets behind a strong start from Freddy Peralta, who shook off a leadoff homer to his old team's Francisco Lindor and settled in from there, allowing just two more hits. Tampa Bay's offense keeps rolling — Yandy Diaz, Chandler Simpson, Junior Caminero and Jonathan Aranda all sit among the AL's top nine hitters, and the Rays' team batting average leads all of baseball, four points better than the Dodgers and 11 points better than the next-closest AL club. Their magic number is down to 11 for a playoff spot and 20 to clinch the AL East, with the Yankees lead sitting around four and a half to five and a half games depending on how New York's late West Coast game with the newly-sold Angels shakes out.
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