The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may have won only one game with Jalon Daniels, but Leonard Fournette believes the team is better off with him as the starting quarterback.
The Buccaneers are currently 1-4 as they prepare for their Week 6 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It'll be Daniels' third consecutive start as the team's quarterback, with Baker Mayfield sidelined due to a thumb injury. Tampa Bay is 1-1 with Daniels as their starter after going 0-3 with Mayfield in the first three weeks.
Fournette, who played for the Buccaneers and won a Super Bowl during the 2020 season, said Daniels -- not Mayfield -- gives Tampa Bay their best chance at winning.
"I think, me personally, Jalon Daniels is the perfect fit for the Bucs right now," Fournette said on his podcast. "They're winning! When Baker was back there, they weren't winning nothing. So I think it was a blessing and a curse. I'm not wishing nobody gets hurt, but at the same time, he's giving them more opportunity to win."
Fournette's argument is that the Buccaneers should stick with Daniels until they stop winning. Daniels was solid in his first start against the Green Bay Packers, but the Buccaneers lost 17-14. Daniels has two touchdowns and three interceptions, with a 69.1% completion rate and a 74.6 passer rating in his first two starts.
"And I'm not saying Jalon's decision-making is better than Baker," he said. "To me it's even, because Baker throws picks, he fumbles, he does a lot. But at the end of the day, what can you do for me now? They're winning. I say keep Daniels in until we figure it out. Yes, Baker's got $100 million contract, but damn that, we want to win, coach."
Mayfield has had a propensity for turnovers, which has been a major cause of the Buccaneers' losses. It was very apparent during Week 1 when the star quarterback fumbled three times, which directly contributed to a narrow loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. That said, Mayfield's INT rate (2.1%) is much lower than Daniels' (5.5%).
Daniels has been solid, considering he's an undrafted rookie free-agent quarterback, but there's a lot of overreaction to one win. Mayfield presents the Buccaneers with the best opportunity to win and is a proven success, having led Tampa Bay to the playoffs twice.
If Daniels pulls off another upset win over the Steelers, this narrative could gain momentum. But if they lose, nobody is going to be arguing that Daniels deserves to start over Mayfield if the latter is healthy.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Leonard Fournette said Jalon Daniels gives Buccaneers best chance to win