Tom Brady has been the Buccaneers’ quarterback for the last three years, but this time he’s retiring for good. With the seven-time Super Bowl champ gone, Tampa Bay has three signal-callers to choose from in its depth chart.
Baker Mayfield, Kyle Trask, and John Wolford are all under contract with the team, though the latter wouldn’t be in contention for a starting role. Instead, it looks like Mayfield and Trask will battle it out for the job during training camp.
While the former Rams quarterback has the most experience in the league, the 2021 second-round pick has been with the Bucs for two years now. So who should they choose as QB1? According to Rob Gronkowski, it has to be Mayfield.
Rob Gronkowski expects Baker Mayfield to replace Tom Brady in Tampa
“I think Baker will win the quarterback position,” Gronkowski said on the Up & Adams show, via Sports Illustrated. “I think he’ll be the starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Bucs going into the season. The only way I see the Bucs pulling him is if he just absolutely plays horrendous, which I don’t think he will.
“I think the Bucs are going to put him in a position to succeed,” he added. “There will be competition between him and Kyle [Trask] during the training camp, which they want. They need Kyle to have that competition to bring the best out of him. He knew he wasn’t going to play behind Tom [Brady], so sometimes you can relax when you know you’re in that position.
“This is the time to compete for a starting job for both of them. I believe Baker will win it in the end, he’ll be put in the position to succeed. He’s got great teammates around him, Chris Godwin, Mike Evans leading them at receiver, they got a great defense around them.
“I would just say Baker just needs to be the Baker that he was when he was with the Rams,” Gronk continued. “He just doesn’t need to be a hero, just protect the ball and don’t turn it over and he will succeed and the Tampa Bay Bucs will be going to the playoffs.”
Mayfield would be the obvious choice, even if Trask knows the playbook and has the age to develop. At the end of the day, we’re talking about a former first overall pick who can still get his career back on track. At 28, this may be the perfect opportunity for Mayfield to prove his worth.