Kyle Trask should get reps in any Buccaneers mop-up situations

Kyle Trask may not be QB2 on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers depth chart, but he still should play in any mop-up situations the Buccaneers may come across.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans have made a lot of noise regarding the lack of excitement surrounding the, what they deem an uninspiring move to bring back Blaine Gabbert as the backup quarterback to Tom Brady. Now, this writer thinks it’s a little overblown, especially since Brady himself went to bat for Gabbert, but what are you gonna do? You can’t please everyone. Should the worst of the worst occur and something happens to Brady, Gabbert is more likely than not the guy to step in, and take over the Bucs offense. This has been backed up by the fact that new head coach Todd Bowles come out and stated his support for Gabbert as the team’s “security blanket” at quarterback.

Fortunately, Brady has had Father Time rolled over and rubbing his belly for a while now, so, knock on wood, things are looking up in that regard. However, that does not mean that Brady should take every snap for the Buccaneers in 2022.

It’s no secret that the Buccaneers still have a beyond-talented roster, especially on the offensive side of the ball. As such, Brady is expected to have another career year, and very well could eclipse the 5,000 passing yard mark for the second straight time. That being the case, the Buccaneers’ offense is expected to be humming once more, and with the defense getting younger and hungrier, they may find themselves in a few blowout situations should they be so fortunate. If that’s the case, they should pull Brady in the fourth quarter of these kinds of games but they shouldn’t put in Gabbert as they have in the past.

The subject of the potential quality of Kyle Trask’s play has left Buccaneers fans divided, to say the least. It’s honestly more contentious than it probably should be, perhaps due to the fact that he’s a former Florida Gator, but it is what it is. One of the key points that both sides will make though, is the fact that we haven’t seen him play in any regular-season action. That can change in 2022, as Trask can get some reps in regular-season games and not just preseason. If the Buccaneers have any comfortable leads deep into the fourth quarter of any game, they should yank Brady and throw Trask out there. While every game in the NFL is a battle, given the quality of the rest of the division, there may be more of the situation than one would expect. Instead of having Gabbert finish the games doing what we know, he can already do, why not see what Trask can do against starting NFL defenses? Sure, they may not be “high pressure“ situations, but reps or reps, and regardless of the team or situation, it’s better than preseason and can get some more meaningful tape out there.

This of course will also help the Bucs prepare for the future. We’ve already gone through this circus once when Brady was retired for the amount of time it took him to enjoy a cup of Joe, and it already felt like the franchise was running around like chickens with their heads cut off, at least if Twitter was to be believed at the very least.

At the end of the day, this is all just speculation. There may not even be any situations where the starters get pulled or at least Brady. However, should the Tampa Bay Buccaneers be so lucky, then Kyle Trask more than deserves a shot to get out there and show his stuff if for nothing else than to at the very least ease a few minds.