Saturday was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' first game of the preseason, but it might be the beginning of the end for Kyle Trask.
With Baker Mayfield sitting, Trask was given the start and proceeded to not do nearly enough to impress fans who were hoping for something better. He played the entire first half, going 12-for-20 with 144 yards and an interception -- not exactly the performance most were looking for.
It's tough to judge preseason performances, but guys like Trask are supposed to use this time to take steps forward. The inability to do that has been an unfortunate theme for him since coming to Tampa Bay back in 2021, and it might be that the former second round pick is running out of road ahead of him.
Kyle Trask didn't look nearly as sharp as he needed to in Buccaneers' first preseason game
Trask wasn't a disaster on Saturday night, even if the overall sentiment about his performance is negative. He showed some flashes, and looked pretty good when he got into a rhythm and was able to locate his first read.
QB Kyle Trask was 4-5 passing for 68 yards on a TD drive that ended in Bucky Irving's touchdown run.
— Scott Smith (@ScottSBucs) August 10, 2024
As soon as it came to freelancing, though, things fell apart. That's been a huge part of what has held Trask back, as he simply hasn't been able to figure out how to find his second or third reads before panicking and letting a play fall apart.
Bucs fans have watched it for years, but the fact that we're going on the fourth year of seeing it is beyond frustrating. It's a bit of a double-edged sword of failure, though, as the Bucs might not have given him the attention he otherwise would have gotten had Tom Brady not been starting in front of him.
Trask was looked at as a potential successor to Brady, and the Bucs using a second round pick on him in 2021 suggested he was looked at as a big part of the future. He simply hasn't developed and is now in a situation where he could get passed up on the depth chart by John Wolford.
A lot more than a disappointing preseason opener needs to happen for Trask to be in that sort of danger, but the fact that it's on the table is telling. He's in the final year of his rookie contract and is a free agent at the end of the season. His preseason is quickly becoming less about securing a QB2 role and more about proving he has a place elsewhere in the league.
There's a good player somewhere in Trask, we just haven't seen enough of him yet.
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