The Tampa Bay Buccaneers aren’t exactly in a great position when it comes to their quarterback position. After a few great years with Tom Brady at the helm, his retirement has left a Hall of Fame sized hole in the most important position in football. Now, the team turns to a position battle between newly signed Baker Mayfield and youngster Kyle Trask. Recent reports have stated that Trask is closing the gap for the starting job. This has been due to an increased focus on one area of his game in particular.
The one thing that has helped him gain some ground on the veteran Mayfield has been protecting the football. Both head coach Todd Bowles and offensive coordinator Dave Canales have been open about how Trask’s limited turnovers have helped him inch closer to taking down Mayfield. Meanwhile, Mayfield has turned the ball over quite a bit in that Florida heat. Which has raised some eyebrows.
Trask also told the media that he is attempting to grow his confidence. After all, he is hoping to become the next Tampa quarterback behind Tom Brady. He said that his voice has grown significantly in the huddle compared to his previous years. That quote read, “It has absolutely grown 100 percent since last year. I was just a young quarterback in the NFL, trying to call a play in the huddle. It’s kind of hard. You don’t realize how much studying it actually takes. You really have to make it your livelihood.”
Kyle Trask Hasn’t Locked It Down
Unfortunately, this improved performance in training camp doesn’t mean that the job is his. To be quite honest, there is very little information on what he might be able to do during a real NFL game. He has only played in one regular season game in his career, completing three of his nine passes. This makes the upcoming preseason games much more impactful, with a lot of guys pressuring him at the line of scrimmage and forcing him to make quick decisions.
The Buccaneers will be getting the Pittsburgh Steelers in the preseason opener, followed by the New York jets, and then wrapped up with the Baltimore Ravens. There’s no doubt that Kyle Trask will see action in every single one of those games. He hasn’t earned the starting job, and even if he doesn’t get rewarded with it, the coaching staff would still like to see him perform before the regular season starts.
Kyle Trask is actually looking forward to this competition that is now rapidly approaching. He said, “It’s another brick in the competition if you will. There’s nothing I can focus on other than just going out there and trying to run the play the best that I possibly can and play clean football and just go out there and have fun.”
It’s not likely that the team will feel confident naming a starting quarterback after just one preseason game. But that doesn’t negate the potential impact it might have on the competition. Just look at what happened when Drew Lock underperformed in the Seattle Seahawks preseason and lost the job to Geno Smith. Smith took it and never looked back. That’s what both of these possible starters are aiming to do.