Sometimes the most popular player on an NFL team is the backup quarterback. That's not necessarily the case for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as Kyle Trask hasn't seen much action since the team spent a second-round pick on him in 2021.
It's not even that Trask is bad. It's the fact that, aside from preseason games, Bucs fans aren't sure of what he can do at the professional level. He's backed up Baker Mayfield the past two seasons and before that was buried on the depth chart behind Tom Brady and Blaine Gabbert.
Trask's lack of playing time in the regular season earned him a spot as the worst backup quarterback in Gilberto Manzano's (of Sports Illustrated) recent rankings. Manzano pointed out what I already stated here that Trask is as low as he is on the rankings due to inexperience.
"It seems like ages ago when Trask was competing with Baker Mayfield for the Buccaneers’ starting job in 2023. Trask, a ’21 second-round pick, has had only two passing attempts since Mayfield arrived and only nine career passing attempts with zero starts. Trask was Tom Brady’s backup for two seasons. There’s not enough of a sample size to know whether Trask is a quality backup."
Kyle Trask ends up in dead last on SI's backup QB rankings
In the grand scheme of things, this isn't really a shocking ranking. Everyone else on the list has seen some playing time and that's the one thing Trask doesn't have on his résumé.
While Bucs fans could argue that Trask is better than guys like Mason Rudolph, Will Levis, or Kenny Pickett (among others), the fact of the matter is that at least we've seen what those guys can do. They might not be the best options but there's at least proof of what they're capable of. The same cannot be said for Trask.
The good news is that Trask hasn't been able to play much because the starters in front of him have been able to stay healthy. NFL teams with competent starting quarterbacks don't want to see their backup take any snaps unless maybe in a blowout win.
The Buccaneers clearly like what they have in Trask though as he re-signed with the team in the offseason and will continue to be Baker Mayfield's backup for at least one more year.