CHARLOTTE — It's time to jump back into the division race as the Carolina Panthers (3-2, 1-0) welcome the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-5, 0-0) to Charlotte this Sunday for a Week 7 matchup. The Panthers currently lead the NFC South. This will be the Bucs' first division game all season.

For the third time this season, the Panthers start the week of preparations unsure what the quarterback situation will look like against their opponent on Sunday. The Bucs are awaiting word on quarterback Baker Mayfield's status, while also preparing their rookie passer. Instead of getting ahead of ourselves, let's just get into it and learn what you need to know about the 2026 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Mayfield or Daniels for Sunday?

Mayfield hasn't played, or even practiced, in the last three games for the Bucs as he recovers from a dislocated thumb in his throwing hand. The veteran passer first hurt his thumb in Week 3, and in his absence, the team has turned to undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels.

Daniels actually led the team to their first — and so far only — win of the season, a Week 5 prime time matchup against the Cowboys. In Daniels' three starts (and after filling in for Mayfield at the end of Week 3), the rookie has gone 60-of-98 (61.2 percent) for 501 yards, three touchdowns, and five interceptions, while taking nine sacks.

The Kansas product is also the team's second-leading rusher. He's carried the ball 20 times for 126 yards, with seven first downs.

In three games, Mayfield went 61-of-96 for 615 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions, taking 13 sacks. He is still the Bucs' third-leading rusher with 65 yards on 11 carries.

Coach Todd Bowles told reporters on Monday that Mayfield is expected to practice on Wednesday, his first since the injury. That practice will give the team a better idea of his availability for Sunday. Mayfield tried to practice last week but couldn't grip the ball.

"We're going to take a good look at him there, and we'll kind of evaluate him during the week and see how he does," said Bowles.

In the meantime, Tampa Bay will move ahead with game-planning as if Daniels is playing.

Dave Canales, who spent time in Tampa with Mayfield, knows the QB will push through anything to play. As such, Carolina will be preparing for both guys this week.

"Knowing Baker, if he's got a chance to play, he's going to play," said Canales on Monday. "He is tough as they come, played through a bunch of stuff in my year that I was with him, and is able to function really well with all those things.

"So I'm expecting it to be Baker.

"We also have to prepare (for) Jalen, so we know that. A little different than last week, where hopefully it's not like a midweek type of thing. We'll know it's either one or the other, so we have to be ready for what their offense looks like when Baker's out there (and) we have to be ready for what they've been doing the last couple of weeks."

Filling the Mike Evans void

The Bucs lost their longtime top playmaker to the West Coast this season when Mike Evans — who spent 12 years in Tampa — signed with the 49ers. It left a production vacuum in Tampa's receiving corps. The group had some practice replacing Evans' numbers, though, since he spent so much of last season injured.

And just as they did in 2025, the Bucs turned to Emeka Egbuka. The second-year receiver leads the team with 28 receptions for 240 yards and two touchdowns. Veteran Chris Godwin Jr. follows with 23 receptions for 216 yards, though he has no touchdowns yet.

So far, this Bucs offense really centers around Bucky Irving. The running back is the team's most productive playmaker, with 96 carries for 452 yards and 17 receptions for 74 yards through the air. He has three total touchdowns on the ground and through the air.

A legacy leads the defense

During the Bucs' overtime loss to the Steelers on Sunday, TV cameras caught a moment between rookie Bucs linebacker Josiah Trotter and Pittsburgh's legendary quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. As the linebacker talked to the QB, Rodgers said, "I knew your dad." It's unclear whether he then said "and he was better" or "and you're better," but the moment made both men laugh and talk glowingly about each other afterward.

It also highlighted the defensive legacy the Bucs drafted when picking up Trotter in the second round of April's draft. His father, longtime Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, played 11 years and made four Pro Bowls.

The Bucs' Trotter leads the team with 52 tackles, and that despite missing Week 3 with a shoulder injury. He also has 1.0 sack, an interception, and two passes defensed.

Second-year edge rusher David Walker is making an extremely efficient impact on defense as well. Walker tore his ACL in training camp last season, so this year is his first introduction to opponents. Despite playing just 26 percent of snaps so far, he leads the team with 4.0 sacks. No other defender has more than 1.0.

As a group, the Bucs defense is fifth-overall in the league, holding teams to 299.5 yards per game. The group is middle of the pack in passing defense, but has made the most impact on the ground, holding opponents to an average of 75.5 yards per game on the ground, second in the league. Any defense that has Vita Vea in the middle will be good, but a big Trotter is a big help in the run defense, with an 8.9 stop percentage.