Bruce Arians sends clear message about Kyle Trask’s chances of being Bucs starting QB

After all of the quarterback changes in Tampa Bay this offseason, Bruce Arians has weighed in on what the future looks like for Kyle Trask. 

In case you hadn’t yet heard, there’s a quarterback battle brewing down in Tampa Bay.

For a small stretch of the offseason, it seemed we couldn’t stop talking about Kyle Trask. Some of this can be credited to the fact that he was the only quarterback under contract and there wasn’t anyone else to talk about, but that’s an unfair assessment of Trask’s chances at winning the starting job.

All of the chatter has seemingly gone away since the team signed Baker Mayfield, though. From being talked about daily as a potential option for the future, Trask has returned to being the forgotten man in the locker room as all of the attention has shifted toward what the Bucs will look like with Mayfield under center this season.

Neither of the two quarterbacks has won the starting job yet.

MORE: What Baker Mayfield signing mean for Kyle Trask?

Mayfield and Trask will do battle in training camp, and the latter has a key figure in the Bucs organization in his corner.

Bruce Arians recently talked to Ira Kaufman about the changes at quarterback and offered up a notable nugget about how it all impacts Kyle Trask.

Bruce Arians weighs in on chances that Kyle Trask wins Bucs QB job

In his mind, while Baker brings a lot to the table that he loves it’s foolish to assume that Trask is somehow already out of a job.

“Kyle is not going to give in. Not a chance. It’s a great situation for the franchise,” Arians said, via JoeBucsFan. 

It’s pretty crazy how fast Trask went back to being an afterthought in the Bucs plans when he very much could be a key part of the future.

Bringing in Baker Mayfield does a few things for the Bucs, not the least of which is putting them in a position to see if Trask truly is The Guy. If Baker beats him for the starting role, then that likely tells Jason Licht all he needs to know about Trask, and the front office can begin planning the future accordingly.

Should Trask beat Baker and win the starting role, then the Buccaneers have an entire season to test the young quarterback under the bright lights of Sunday and further assess if he’s the successor to Tom Brady. It’s possible for Trask to win the starting role and still prove he’s not the guy by failing in the regular season, but either way, the Bucs will likely have finality on their decision heading into the offseason.

Consider that Trask has always been a late-bloomer, both in high school and during his college career with the Gators. He only played in three games his first year at Florida before becoming the team’s starter as a junior and ending his senior year as a Heisman finalist.

There’s no guarantee that Trask ends up being the Bucs franchise quarterback — the first one the team has ever had. It’s equally foolish to assume that a guy who has taken fewer than ten career snaps is already washed and can’t end up proving everyone wrong.