The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' quarterback depth chart will have a familiar look in 2024.
On Friday, the Buccaneers agreed to terms with fifth-year quarterback John Wolford, who split the 2023 season between Tampa Bay's practice squad and active roster. His return means the Bucs will be bringing back all three of their passers from last season, as starter Baker Mayfield signed a new three-year contract with the team on Wednesday and 2021 draftee Kyle Trask is headed into the final year of his rookie deal.
The Buccaneers signed Wolford last May after he had spent the previous four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, three on the active roster. He performed well in the preseason, completing 66.7% of his passes, throwing for one touchdown and no interceptions and compiling a 106.8 passer rating. That secured the Bucs' third-QB job, though at the beginning of the season he handled those duties from the practice squad. When the Rams showed interest in bringing Wolford back, the Buccaneers made a spot for him on their 53-man roster in Week Nine. He was inactive for each of the last 12 games, including the postseason.
Wolford drew five starts during his tenure with the Rams, including one in the postseason, and three of those resulted in victories. He won his only start in 2020 then went 1-2 in 2022 after an injury to Matthew Stafford before the Rams brought in Mayfield to finish the season. Wolford worked with the Buccaneers' new offensive coordinator, Liam Coen, with the Rams in 2019-20 and 2022.
In his career, Wolford has completed 61 of 104 passes (58.7%) for 626 yards, one touchdown and five interceptions in the regular season. He played his college ball at Wake Forest and first entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the New York Jets in 2018. He had a brief stint on the Jets' practice squad as a rookie and then signed with the Rams the following spring.
