The preseason Week 2 contest between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Pittsburgh Steelers has lost quite a bit of juice now that both starting quarterbacks, Aaron Rodgers and Baker Mayfield, won't be taking the field.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin announced the decision on Thursday after the joint session with Tampa Bay, saying he would take the same approach as preseason Week 1, when Rodgers and the starters didn't play.
"I'm going to play this preseason game very much like we did the first one," Tomlin said, according to ESPN. "In terms of participation, the same collection of guys that were held out the last time will comprise the guys that are held out this time."
Head coach Todd Bowles also shared the news that Mayfield would not play any snaps after practice, but that wasn't always a locked-in decision it would seem.
Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Bowles said he made the decision to sit his starting signal-caller after he watched tape of Mayfield's performance against the Steelers in the joint practice on Thursday.
Bowles deemed Mayfield's performance good enough to give the veteran the day off on Saturday.
"After reviewing the tape of today’s practice, Todd Bowles just told me he believes Baker Mayfield played so well today in the joint workout with the Steelers he will NOT play in Saturday night’s game," Stroud wrote.
After practice, Steelers defensive back Brandin Echols noted that the Steelers did not come out with enough energy against the Bucs, and said there was communication issues, a problem Pittsburgh had in 2024.
Clearly Mayfield was able to capitalize.
With Mayfield sitting, the Bucs will roll out quarterbacks Kyle Trask and Teddy Bridgewater, the latter of whom was signed on Aug. 5 and will be making his Buccaneers debut.
Meanwhile, the Steelers will have Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson at their disposal. Rookie Will Howard is still recovering from a broken finger.
Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay will meet for preseason Week 2 on Saturday night, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. ET.
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