One of the most intriguing training camp battles for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is perhaps the most obvious.
All questions about this upcoming season begin and end with who wins the quaterback battle. After Tom Brady retired, a void opened up at the position that the team still hasn't officially filled, although pieces have been put in place to solve that problem.
Baker Mayfield was signed in March to compete with Kyle Trask, who is entering his third season with the Bucs. Trask was the last pick of the second round back in 2021 but has played fewer than ten snaps since then. It's hard to hold that against him considering Brady was ahead of him on the depth chart but it doesn't necessarily put the team in a great spot.
That's why Mayfield is here, to compete with Trask and help the team determine one way or another what the future will look like. It was easy to troll the team when Mayfield was signed, but not everyone is taking the bait and grasping for low hanging fruit in the name of Twitter engagement.
Bruce Arians sounds like he knows who will win Buccaneers quarterback battle
While sitting down with The National Football Show, former Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians went into detail about why he thinks Baker Mayfield is currently winning the quarterback battle in Tampa Bay and why he might emerge victorious with the role.
“Baker has been there and done it, and has I think a little bit of an edge just because of that leadership and having been in the huddle with pro guys a lot,” Arians said, via JoeBucsFan. “But the guys really respect Kyle also. I love . I think he just brings a charisma and a fire to your offense.”
It's very important to note that Arians made sure to mention Trask in a positive light. Lest we forget that Trask was one of the last quarterbacks Arians brought in after spending a second round pick on him back in 2021.
With that being said, it still sounds like Arians is backing Mayfield in the race this summer. To be fair, no matter how anyone tries to slice it the expectation has always been for Mayfield to be the starter this season. If he can't beat out Trask in training camp then that's a pretty massive indictment of where Mayfield's career is heading.
Don't take that as a slight against Trask. He's probably being unfairly judged, up to and including the lack of experience he carries into a position battle with a former No. 1 overall pick. Mayfield should be in a better place than Trask and have the tools to win a quarterback battle.
That was always the best part of bringing in Mayfield to compete with Trask. If he lost the battle, then it would give the Bucs an entire season to judge Trask to see if he's the guy they should build around moving forward. If Trask loses the battle, then the Bucs likely know all they need to and can proceed accordingly.
Keep in mind that Trask still has another year left on his rookie contract, so losing the starting job this offseason doesn't mean his time in Tampa Bay is over. He'll likely get another shot next summer to compete with a rookie -- or Mayfield, if things go his way --