Buccaneers offseason plan to make the most of Kyle Trask
By Rob Leeds
How can the Buccaneers make the Kyle Trask experiment successful?
With Tom Brady out, the Buccaneers are in a very sticky situation at the quarterback position. With names like Blaine Gabbert and Kyle Trask getting plenty of attention from the coaching staff, there is also plenty of conjecture on what is behind “door number two.”
Trask and Gabbert probably don’t move the needle to make this a Super Bowl contender in 2022, but the other options that would are unrealistic at best.
The Seahawks or Packers sending their dominant quarterbacks within the conference seems unlikely. Deshaun Watson is a significant risk with his legal issues and would cost a king’s ransom to bring out of Houston.
A reunion between Jameis Winston and the Bucs also makes little sense after a bit of a nasty breakup, and the other free agent options do little to inspire confidence in a substantial improvement over what would already be in place.
It wouldn’t take long for all of the viable options to come off the board for Tampa, and that would leave Gabbert and Trask as the best options going forward, but perhaps not for why people would believe.
If the Bucs can’t make any moves, Trask should get the reps over Gabbert, even if that isn’t what the coaching staff has indicated with their support.
Why would any staff spend a Day Two pick on a quarterback, make him sit for a year, and then let a career backup start over him? How many years does a guy need to sit? If the Bucs still don’t believe Trask is ready, that would be an indictment on their draft process.
There is no future with Gabbert, and the ceiling is about as low as it can be. Trask getting playing time leads to one of two better scenarios: either the Bucs win and they find their future franchise quarterback, or they lose and get better draft position for a chance at a franchise quarterback.
One way or another, the extremes of Trask make him a far more attractive option than Gabbert if that is what the decision comes down to, and the Buccaneers should start coming up with a plan to give Trask the best opportunity possible.