Bucs OC suggests we haven’t seen the last of Kyle Trask as a starting QB
By Josh Hill
On Tuesday the Tampa Bay Buccaneers answered the biggest question hanging over their offseason. Head coach Todd Bowles stepped up to the podium and confirmed the worst-kept secret in the league, that Baker Mayfield would begin the season as the team’s starting quarterback.
The annoucement ended a quarterback battle that began when Mayfield signed with the Bucs back in March but seemed scripted from the start. There was an outside chance that Kyle Trask won the QB1 role, but the deck seemed stacked against him.
Not even a solid start against the New York Jets in the Bucs second preseason game could move the needle in his direction. Saturday’s performance was the best we’ve seen Trask look since being drafted back in 2021, although his efforts still only resulted in a meager 13 points being scored.
The nuance within that is what has everyone excited. For the first time, Trask looked like a guy who might have something the Bucs can work with. The team needs more than that to invest in, but it sounds like the decision to name Baker the starter doesn’t mean we’ve heard the last of Trask as a starting quarterback.
Buccaneers OC praises Kyle Trask as ‘starting level talent’
Speaking with the media following the decision to name Mayfield the team’s starting quarterback, Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales praised Trask and went so far as to say he has qualities of a starter.
“If you watch Kyle’s film and you throw on any of the [preseason] games across the league, you’ll see this is a real talent. This is a real starting level talent at quarterback,” Canales said. “He just has calm in the pocket. He’s accurate. He just stays cool throughout the whole thing. Good or bad series he’s right back on it. So, pretty cool.”
Starting level talent is not a phrase to throw around lightly.
It should also be taken for what it is, because even if Canales thinks Trask has starting qualities it wasn’t enough to give him an edge over Mayfield. Again, that always seemed like a loaded competition that Trask was never going to win outside of something drastic happening, but Trask is the backup in Tampa Bay and not the starter for a reason.
That doesn’t mean this shouldn’t be taken as a hopeful sign for the future. Trask still has another year on his contract after this season, which means he’ll probably be in the same position next offseason in battling for the starting role. With Caleb Williams suddenly wishy-washy on whether he’ll declare for the draft in 2024, a door might be opening for Trask to become the guy the Bucs are searching for.
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