The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the impossible task of replacing an all-time great at the quarterback position this offseason. Future Hall of Famer Tom Brady announced his retirement earlier this offseason, leaving the Buccaneers without a clear-cut option for their starting job.
2021 second-round pick Kyle Trask has been backing up Brady and Blaine Gabbert and will now have a shot to become the starter. In free agency, the team brought Baker Mayfield to Tampa Bay to compete for the job.
Both players will have a fair shot at being under center in Week 1. According to James Palmer of NFL Network, Trask and Mayfield are seemingly in a dead heat. The two have split first-team reps evenly according to head coach Todd Bowles.
Eventually, the hope is that one of them will separate from the other and show that they deserve the starting job. It isn’t the most encouraging situation as Trask has never started an NFL game and the Buccaneers are Mayfield’s fourth team in two seasons. After being traded by the Cleveland Browns to the Carolina Panthers last year, Carolina cut him and he ended up finishing the season with the Los Angeles Rams.
Alas, there could also be an outside chance that neither of them get the starting job. If they continue putting performances on tape like this one shared by Kyle Burger, sports anchor/reporter of ABC Action News, some changes will have to be made.
It is still very early in the process as OTAs are essentially walk-throughs. Players are meeting each other for the first time in some cases and it isn’t rare for veterans to skip the voluntary work. But, it still isn’t encouraging to see throws being made at that level by your potential starter.
Whoever wins the starting job can rest easy knowing they at least have a star duo in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin to get the ball to at wide receiver. Those two are talented enough to make any quarterback look good.
