With Tom Brady retiring from football, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head into the 2023 NFL season with an intriguing question: Who will replace the 7x Super Bowl champ, Baker Mayfield or Kyle Trask?
The former first-overall pick joined the team as a free agent following Brady’s announcement and looks like the obvious candidate to take the reins, but the Florida product is also fighting for the job.
Selected by the Bucs in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Trask has been waiting for his opportunity while learning closely from the GOAT. According to offensive coordinator Dave Canales, the quarterback competition is very tight.
Competition between Mayfield, Trask for Brady’s vacancy has tightened
“First couple of days, I think the experience that Baker brings — just playing in games, being in camps, going through installs — you could see where the offense was jelling really well,” Canales said, via Joey Knight of the Tampa Bay Times.
“The timing of the snaps and all that is really critical for us, so probably a little bit of an edge for Baker to start off, just in terms of the smoothness of the offense. But it just took a couple of days for Kyle to really settle in, and then what we saw is, the last two practices Kyle really showed what he can do: stretching the field with his arm, getting the ball out quickly, making decisions. So I’m really excited about both of those guys and the progression that they’ve made throughout the last couple of days.”
While Mayfield has way more experience in the league, Trask has been with the team for two years now, so he knows his teammates and the playbook in and out. With preseason games drawing nearer, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles is expected to make a decision soon.
