Kyle Trask deserves fair shot for Buccaneers if Tom Brady retires

Should Tom Brady retire, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would find themselves in a bit of a quarterback pickle. However, a potential answer may be right under the Buccaneers’ noses.

The Bucs 2021 season has not even been officially over for a week, and already speculation on 2022 and beyond is already running rampant, particularly at the quarterback position. The NFL community at-large is starving to find out what the future holds for Tom Brady, and rightfully so, as he’s the greatest to ever lace up a pair of cleats.

Unfortunately, the Buccaneers are not exactly in a position to enjoy a potential walk into the sunset like the rest of the league. They would need a succession plan for the position moving forward.

This appears to be the one offseason where there is a plethora of passers, both young and old, that are reportedly available. Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, and Deshaun Watson appear to be the top cash cows in the offseason farm. Heck, if Brady were to retire there may be some clamoring for a Jameis Winston reunion in Tampa Bay.

Unfortunately, we have to be the bearer of bad news and bring things back to reality.

The Bucs put all their chips on the table to capitalize on the Brady window and attempt to “go for two” as Super Bowl champions, if not more. That being the case, Jason Licht and the rest of the front office had to use the approach of “kicking the can down the road“ when it comes to the salary cap. Now, the chickens have come home to roost and it’s not looking like the Buccaneers will be able to retain everyone again. Bruce Arians is even up in the air if recent speculations are to be believed. In a nutshell, they are not exactly in a happy place when it comes to the salary cap.

Fortunately, there was some foresight with this franchise, as they drafted a quarterback in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. While what we seen of Kyle Trask thus far, albeit in preseason action, has been a bit of a mixed bag, the team clearly thinks highly of the former Florida Gator, otherwise they would not have taken him in the second round.

Sure, the knee-jerk reaction would be that the Buccaneers should draft a quarterback in the FIRST round, or bring in an established veteran, and that is understandable, but that is looking at things with a bit of a wide-angled lens.

A fairly interesting stat to consider, out of the 55 Super Bowls that have been played so far, 28 have been won by quarterbacks taken in the first round, narrowly edging out the 27 wins by quarterbacks not taken in the first round. However, of those 28, five were won by quarterbacks taken in the first round by a different team. The point is, it doesn’t really matter where you find your quarterback as long as you find your quarterback. To some, the diminished pressure of being drafted in a round other than the first can be beneficial.

That said, why not give Trask at least a punchers chance to win the starting job should Brady retire? He’s had a year to learn under him, and Brady is a pretty good ballplayer in his own right so surely he was a wealth of knowledge. Also, Blaine Gabbert is a veteran quarterback who can also fill the void and mentor Trask until he’s ready.

Is the Bucs’ current succession plan ideal? Of course not, but on the surface none are before they actually begin. Of course there’s other options out there but to simply throw away the prospect of the second round prospect getting a shot of getting the keys to the car is just silly. Kyle Trask deserves a shot if Tom Brady retires, what he does with that shot is completely in his hands. That is IF Tom Brady retires of course.