Buccaneers quarterback situation for 2023 about as clear as mud

The Buccaneers didn’t get any solid answers about their quarterback situation for next season after the game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

On one hand, it’s not really fair to judge Kyle Trask’s only 2022 regular season NFL game performance against the Dirty Birds as sub-par. On the other, he didn’t do much to make the most of the time he did get to at least prove there’s some potential for etching his name in as the Buccaneer’s future quarterback.

He is certainly lacking playing experience, no knock against him there, but has he picked up anything under the tutelage of the G.O.A.T.? Has anything rubbed off? I’m not so sure, at least not enough to translate to consistent on-field play. There are skills that should already exist as a second-round pick that just aren’t materializing after two years under Brady’s mentorship.

Not all is his fault, but much is, and it again begs the question; is Kyle Trask ready to be the future for this Bucs organization? It seems apparent that he is not. Many other QB’s drafted the same year or even more recently have shown themselves to have the talent to make it in the NFL, but Trask seems to be just sputtering. So, what do the Bucs do?

As much as Bucs Nation would love to see the Tampa keep Tom Brady, it may not be the decision this organization should make, and retaining the G.O.A.T. for one more year would merely kick that preverbal can down the road some more, even as he keeps breaking records. With salary cap issues for next year, we may also see some players leaving for “green(er)-back” pastures.

And what if TB12 decides to go another Super Bowl contender to end his career? Would Ryan Jensen want to come back? Is Godwin coming back? Would the Bucs be able to attract some other big name free-agents willing to play for less to play with Tom? We can go on with the scenarios, but no matter, next season may turn out to be a little bit of a disappointment if TB12 does leave.

Either way, Tampa needs to “Buc-Up” and start looking for their future quarterback. They could dip their toes in the free agent waters or trade for the likes of Baker Mayfield, Jared Goff, Derek Carr, Tyler Huntley, and others as I’ve mentioned in previous articles, as stop gaps, and/or get lucky enough to have one turn into the franchise leader for years to come.

The other route is obviously the draft. By the time they pick, somewhere around 20, depending on where they end up, the likes of Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, and Will Levis are projected to be long gone, but there will still be some interesting prospects that could be steals later in the first or in the early second round.

You have local favorite and most likely the better of the two Gators the Bucs would have in Anthony Richardson. But there are some other not really off-the-radar impressive prospects who may not be there in the second round if several other QB needy teams snatch them up. Stetson Bennett out of Georgia, Shaun Clifford of Penn State, and even Jaren Hall out of BYU to name a few.

Obviously the Buccaneers will vet them all to see who fits best in this system – although will ‘this’ system still be the same next year? Brady still here? Bowles still HC, Leftwich here or gone? Much will be up in the air before the draft which will determine the route as well.

I just don’t see the Kyle Trask experiment moving on much further than it has to this point. Maybe he gets one more shot in training camp and OTA’s, but there are much better options that could fit the bill for the Buccaneers. Whatever happens in what is developing to be a very interesting offseason, the Bucs quarterback situation has not cleared up one iota, and they need to start looking to the future beyond Brady, (Gabbert) and Trask.