The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the impossible task of replacing the legendary Tom Brady under center this offseason. The future Hall of Famer decided to ride off into retirement, leaving a huge void at the quarterback position in Tampa Bay.
It will be either 2021 second-round pick Kyle Trask or free agent Baker Mayfield as the starter in 2023. They will be competing in a training camp battle against each other and to this point, neither player has separated from the other one.
Veteran linebacker Lavonte David has observed the competition thus far and likes what he has seen from both players. It hasn’t been a divisive thing, instead the two have been working together and taking it in stride.
“During minicamp it was really fun to see, man, those guys are really having fun with it and they’re helping each other throughout the way,” David said. “So that’s definitely something I love to see, as well.” (H/T Coral Smith of NFL.com)
The competition will heat up when the Buccaneers open up training camp on July 25th. It is anyone’s guess who will pull away, as Trask has the upper hand entering Year 3 with the organization.
Normally that would be a big deal, but with a new offensive coordinator, Dave Canales, taking over this offseason, both players are starting from virtually the same spot. Many people believe that the veteran Mayfield will eventually win the job, as his experience will win out.
David has liked what he has seen from the former No. 1 overall pick. With the Buccaneers being his fourth franchise since last year, David is excited to see what is brought out of Mayfield in a new situation.
“Obviously, Baker, already he’s been ‘the guy’ and, you know, he’s expected to live up to what everybody expected him to be,” David said in an interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio, via joebucsfan.com. “Baker is great for our locker room. I like the way Baker carries himself coming in with a ready-to-work mentality. Everybody loves him already and the way he approaches practice is great to see. So there’s definitely some great things to see out of Baker. He’s a guy who’s done it before — took his team to the playoffs and done some great things so far.
“So the competition with those guys is going to be very, very competitive, and I’m glad to be a part of it.” (H/T Coral Smith of NFL.com)
A lot of people have already written off the Buccaneers given their quarterback situation. But, this is a team that is still confident that they will be able to compete regardless of who is under center.
Whoever wins the quarterback competition will have a solid group of weapons around them. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are an excellent duo at wide receiver and Rachaad White brings explosiveness to the backfield. The Buccaneers are a team, if things click at quarterback, that could surprise some people in 2023.
