Is Baker Mayfield playing tonight vs. Bengals? (August 10th)
By Josh Hill
The NFL preseason is officially underway, which means we’re that much closer to games finally counting.
Don’t confuse that with these games not mattering, though. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers begin the first of a three game preseason schedule this month and each game will show us a little more about the players on the fringes of the roster and who might be able to help step up and have an impact this season.
With a slew of UDFAs and a stellar rookie class looking to make its debut on Saturday, a few familiar faces will be sitting things out. Top stars like Mike Evans, Antoine Winfield Jr., and Tristan Wirfs expected to play but it’s yet to be seen whether or not they will see time later in the preseason.
What does that mean for the Buccaneers leader of the offense?
Is Baker Mayfield playing tonight?
No, Baker is not going to be playing tonight. The bigger question is how much we will see him at all this preseason, which seems like it won’t be much. We saw a bit more of Baker last August but the circumstances were vastly different.
Last year Baker was trying to win the starting job in training camp after signing with the Bucs that March. It didn’t take long for that to happen, as Baker quickly distanced himself from Kyle Trask and the rest was history.
That other guy in the equation, though, has a different story to write on Saturday night.
Trask lost the starting job to Baker last season, but now he finds himself trying to avoid having the same thing happen for the backup role. It’s been four years since the Bucs drafted him in the second round, and it feels like he’s officially auditioning for a new job this upcoming offseason.
What that ends up being is yet to be seen.
Trask could use this preseason to build up his resume for free agency or as a trade candidate, as his rookie deal is set to expire at the end of the season. Perhaps more crucially, Trask could look to prove to the Bucs that he deserves to stick around as Baker’s backup after this season, a valuable position that he very much has a chance to earn.
His path to that starts on Saturday, where he’ll be starting and looking to impress with John Wolford looking to do the exact same thing.
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