Kyle Trask Needs To Pull A Mac Jones
July 12th, 2022
Quarterback Kyle Trask
Ahhh, July. It’s the glorious time of year when Joe has more time to dive into all things football across the NFL.
For example, Joe was able to enjoy an episode of the 1st and Foxborough podcast.
It’s a production from WEEI radio in Boston and Patriots beat writer Khari Thompson, who had longtime Patriots beat guy Tom Curran as a special guest.
Curran is known for being extremely direct and blunt with fantastic sources, and he was reflecting on how then-rookie Mac Jones won the starting QB job last year from Cam Newton in training camp.
Per Curran, it was a methodical and day-by-day victory. He explained that if Newton graded out to a score of 84 on a given day, then Jones got an 87. Or on the days Newton got a B+, Jones was pulling an A-. It got to the point after several days, per Curran, that some beat writers were asking each other, “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”
The entire exchange got Joe thinking about second-year Bucs quarterback Kyle Trask competing with Blaine “Daddy” Gabbert for the Bucs’ backup job later this month. Trask won’t get as many opportunities as Gabbert, but he still will have an opportunity to score better — aka make more out of his snaps than Gabbert.
If Trask can methodically look better than Gabbert in practice and be more efficient in the preseason opener, then by mid-August Trask should be firmly implanted in the heads of Todd Bowles and Byron Leftwich.
And by the time joint practices with the Titans end on Aug. 18, Trask could be in a legitimate battle with Gabbert for the No. 2 gig behind Tom Brady.
Of course Joe is rooting for Trask. He represents the future and Gabbert is, well, Gabbert. Plus, Joe believes another season as the No. 3 quarterback is bad for Trask’s development.
When’s the last time a drafted quarterback was a two-season No. 3 QB and emerged as a stud starter?
July 12th, 2022 at 8:08 pm
Couldn’t agree more. If Trask has any chance of being a starter for the Bucs after Brady, he’s got to win the backup job from Gabbert.
July 12th, 2022 at 8:24 pm
In underwear football it sounded like Trask was much more consistent than Gabbert.
He was tossing some good balls everyday, but Gabbert only had occasional flashes.
If Trask keeps it up, the only thing holding back could be Brady. I don’t want to get into that, but I think Trask is already ahead of Gabbert, as it should be.
July 12th, 2022 at 8:25 pm
Remember Marino.
July 12th, 2022 at 8:26 pm
Trask needs a target. Like Duper.
July 12th, 2022 at 8:26 pm
hard to find
July 12th, 2022 at 8:57 pm
Absolutely. If he is not the back up this year then it’s probably officially a busted draft pick. I really like Trask but he needs win the back up this year. If it was a good vet with experience as the back up on a team with Super Bowl aspirations, then I get it. But it’s not. It’s Blaine Gabbert. He’s never been good and he does not have good experience.
July 12th, 2022 at 8:57 pm
Oh, brother. Craig must be a Florida fan. If you think Brady is holding back Trask, you’re outta your mind. It’s not all about physical ability. It’s also the mental part. I’m not even sure Trask has the intangibles to succeed in the NFL. I’m sure Evans was feel with joy when he thought Trask would be his QB. The receivers would prefer the corpse of Brady before Trask.
July 12th, 2022 at 9:06 pm
Newton wasn’t hard to beat out. He didn’t understand the offense, and was woefully inaccurate all through camp. Tom E. needed something to write about. Jones was always going to be the starter, unless he fell on his face.
If Brady goes down, the season is lost anyway. Why not give Trask any and every opportunity to win the backup job. Gabbert’s tires have been pumped up for one simple reason. Trask isn’t the player the bucs thought they were getting. You don’t blow a second round pick on a multi year project. At least not with a Superbowl ready roster. Trask has career backup written all over him.
July 12th, 2022 at 9:19 pm
I didn’t have Trask as a premier QB in that draft. I thought Mac Jones was easily the second best QB, highest floor but potentially the lowest ceiling of the QB draftees, after Trevor Lawrence.
Trask, at least to me, looked like an end of 3rd to 4th rounder.
July 12th, 2022 at 9:36 pm
Mac Jones has always been a superior and more finished product than Kyle Trask in every way, and that remains the case. And Jones isn’t even great. Trask is scrappy but seriously flawed. He’s being given a huge opportunity and prove everyone wrong, but the hurdles are immense. I don’t see him being a good NFL starter.
July 12th, 2022 at 9:36 pm
Passing, I agree. I bet the coach in SF, that has Chris Simms initials tattooed on his leg, is kicking himself for not drafting Jones. Mac looks like he put a ton of work into his body this off-season. Many who believe Mac’s ceiling is limited, will look very stupid in five years. The kid is incredibly intelligent, and his work effort is off the charts good. If Bill would only get him a true #1, Jones could easily lead the league in passer rating.
July 12th, 2022 at 9:43 pm
This is a hilarious notion.
July 12th, 2022 at 10:11 pm
Sam Donald also beat out Cam Newton
July 12th, 2022 at 10:30 pm
If Trask pulls a Felipe Franks we should be ecstatic.
July 12th, 2022 at 10:41 pm
Helps that cam is just bad not a hard feat to beat out someone passed his prime.
July 13th, 2022 at 12:11 am
I don’t know every backup qb in the league off the top of my head, but I’d be surprised if Gabbert wasn’t among the worst two or three. If Trask can’t beat out Gabbert, then he was either a wasted pick, or the coaches refuse to let him win the job. I’d rather bring Craig Erickson out of mothballs than have Gabbert even on the team. Complete and utter waste of time unless he has a brilliant football mind but is just incapable of translating his knowledge on the field. Its freaking weird man and frustrating too.
July 13th, 2022 at 12:41 am
Passing through. Kyle Trask had more yards and tds than every quarterback in college that year. Now Jones went to a better situation a team that only had 2 quarterbacks in 30 years before Jones got there. While Trask came to a team that never developed a quarterback in their franchise history. That’s the difference between the 2 . But I get it it’s always the quarterbacks fault with our team and fan base even though we have drafted heisman trophy winning quarterbacks, national championships winning quarterbacks all forget how to play when they come to Tampa. But I guess I’m the only one who notices that fact !!
July 13th, 2022 at 2:50 am
“Looks like a third or fourth rounder to me” (talking about Trask) well look at the nfc south, most of the QBs “looked like” first rounders if not first or second over all pick…..well except for Brady. Doesn’t matter what draft position you look like, matters how you play.
July 13th, 2022 at 5:17 am
If Gabbert is as bad as people claim and Trask can’t pass him up this year, than what good is that?
July 13th, 2022 at 8:27 am
I refuse to believe that Newton ever got a B+.
July 13th, 2022 at 8:29 am
Year 2 Trask has to just improve on what we saw of him in the 2021 postseason, because not “winning” a back up role from Blaine Gabbert really doesn’t mean anything considering IT’S BLAINE GABBERT. Does not mean Trask can’t play the QB position, doesn’t mean Trask is a waste of anything, it just means a 2nd year QB doesn’t know nearly as much as a 10 year pro does about facilitating a pro offense in live action, shocker right? Brady can’t go to Trask midgame to get the observations & feedback he’d get from Gabbert. Let Kyle cook.
July 13th, 2022 at 8:29 am
If Brady goes down the Bucs are screwed. Trask might develop into a competent qb eventually but not ready for now. Gabbert just does not have the skill set to replace Brady. Can an aging Brady survive another long season? Hope so but qb is the Bucs Achilles heal. And all the other teams know it.
July 13th, 2022 at 8:56 am
Gabbert is going to be the backup, regardless of how well Trask does/doesn’t do in practice.
God forbid, but if Brady is hurt, they will NOT hand this team off to someone with no experience.
Super Bowl or bust.
July 13th, 2022 at 9:08 am
I continually fall into the trap of believing that any quarterback you draft is better than the competition, but it is often just not true. Have to learn and then perform.
July 13th, 2022 at 9:33 am
Hey gob go find joe pats fan and f off yankee doodle
July 13th, 2022 at 10:03 am
All you Trask haters saying if Trask can’t beat out Gabbert then he must be no good don’t know football and need to take off your FSU blinders. Trask can be – and based on his performance during recent practices likely already is – better than Gabbert, but that does not mean Trask KNOWS more than Gabbert, who is entering his 12th NFL season. A loaded team like the Bucs with Brady at the helm is Super Bowl or bust this season, and so going with the veteran Gabbert over the inexperienced Trask in an emergency makes perfect sense.
July 13th, 2022 at 10:10 am
If Trask can’t beat out garbage like Gabbert then Licht made a HUGE mistake. Especially since their were players available in the draft that could’ve contributed last year that he passed up on
July 13th, 2022 at 10:37 am
The Trask kerfuffle reminds me of a non-PC joke.
In a dusty New Mexico town, a pretty young tourist watched with considerable interest as an Indian said “Chance” to every passing female. Finally, when curiosity got the best of her, she walked up to him and said “Hello”-to which he answered, “Chance.”
Instead of strolling on, she turned to him and said, “I thought all Indians said’ How.’ ”
Replied the Indian: “I know how-just want chance.”
It’s hard to judge Trask when you have the GOAT making another Lombardi run with a veteran guy, regardless of past history, who knows the offense and in the coach’s mind offers the best chance to win as a back-up.
July 13th, 2022 at 10:41 am
I did not think Trask played poorly in the 20212 PS, especially considering he was playing with future beer truck delivery guys and UPS drivers, with very limited practice reps.
I kinda like not throwing a rook into the fire right away…, especially while experiencing leadership and QB savvy with Brady as 24/7 role model.
How many rook QBs have the Bucs destroyed requiring them to win immediately?
July 13th, 2022 at 10:45 am
@Oneilbuc
College stats do not readily translate into NFL production. When evaluating draftees, you mostly look at the traits and then see if the stats justify the appraisal. While Mac Jones didn’t have to beat Tom Brady, he excelled from the day he hit camp. The Patriots have one of the shakiest WR position groups in the NFL and only one productive TE. Despite that limitation, he performed on a par with what I expected: He’s a fast processor who is accurate at hitting his targets at the first and second levels of the field. The only problem were his deep throws, which were a surprise as he was what I call a bucket-thrower in college. But that might have been a limitation imposed by the marginal WR quality in New England.
Trask? No. I didn’t see that same level of processing in college, and in fact, he labors in part because of his terrible footwork, and he’s a painfully slow processor. Pair that together with his labored throwing mechanics, and you have someone who has a lengthy “To Do” list to make the grade as an NFL QB. Mac Jones, by contrast, was the most refined QB product out of college in that draft class.
I realize you blame the Bucs for Jameis’ flat-line development, and perhaps there is some truth there. What separates the stars from the pretenders is work ethic. Brady was the fourth-string QB in his rookie year, showing enough for the Patriots to waste a roster spot on someone they know wouldn’t make a meaningful contribution. The second year was a different story; he leapfrogged from 4th to 2nd on the QB depth chart and even outplayed Drew Bledsoe in the preseason. Bledsoe, at the time, was one of the premier QBs in the NFL. Mac Jones has a similar drive; he’s worked hard physically, studied the playbook and film, and worked on his deep ball accuracy. Where’s Trask in all of this? Why haven’t we heard about Trask arriving early every day at One Buc Place? Why didn’t he kill it at the OTAs?
Maybe Trask is doing something clandestine, but the results have been far from impressive. Again, he wasn’t refined like Mac coming out of college; the question is: Does Trask have the drive to excel, or is he just hanging on waiting his turn? If it’s the latter, I guarantee he will underwhelm as a starter in two years. It’s simply the wrong attitude.
July 13th, 2022 at 11:18 am
“Something is rotten in Denmark.”
It doesn’t add up to anything that even approaches logic.
Why would you draft a quarterback with a reasonably strong resume (third in voting for the Heisman for example, etc.), and over a year later fail to give him an equal shot at competing for #2QB?
Yeah, I get it…it’s all about Brady and SB or bust. All the more reason to give him at least more of the backup snaps than Gabbert. He either shows he can cut it or not…. but, to continue with the “Gabbert is our only option if TB goes down” approach, seems ludicrous, asinine, and illogical at best.
How do you know that Gabbert is our best option as #2 if we don’t use the preseason to test that theory? Gabbert is a known quantity, and more reps for him in the preseason that Trask needs to answer the question of whether he has got the juice to be #2, makes no sense…yet here we are.
So, I repeat my opening statement…”Something is rotten in Denmark.”
July 13th, 2022 at 11:22 am
“If Gabbert is as bad as people claim”
There’s the rub! IF…IF…IF…and which people are making those claims. What is their background. BA apparently did not think he was that bad.
AGAIN…Gabbert is neither great nor bad. He historically has played to the level of the team around him. That’s not exactly unusual even in the NFL.
IE Gabbert will not carry a team…but he won’t deep six it…kind of like ole Fitz.
Trask OTOH has his entire future ahead of him. He may end up being just another Gabbert…talent…but a mediocre NFL QB.
Gabbert has survived a dozen years in the NFL. He didn’t pull that off by being bad. He is a competent..if mediocre NFL QB with a LOT of experience.
Someone suggested that maybe Brady is influencing this decision. Perhaps..not because he fears Trask taking his job but because he has worked very well with Gabbert as his backup. Brady likes routine and he’s the last guy to fix something that isn’t broken.
If Brady goes down for the season it’s curtains. But what if he misses just 3-4 games. Do you really want to toss an inexperienced virtual rookie in there or let a wily vet who has survived a dozen years simply hold down the fort until Brady’s return.
This is NOT about Trask’s career or potential! It’s about winning NOW!
July 13th, 2022 at 11:49 am
Vinny Vermont, because nothing changes whether Trask is the 2nd/3rd/Practice squad QB that’s why. With Brady on the roster, nobody wants to see Gabbert or Trask or Griffin, taking any meaningful regular season snaps, BUT preseason snaps are much more meaningful for Trask as a year 2 player than they would be for vet backups like Gabbert. It’s not about having a lack of “juice” and to be honest the only ones calling it a “competition” is people outside of 1Buc, as the staff eluded to there being comp, but you can probably imagine needing to sub and having to use a 2nd year guy over the 10 year guy theres going to be a fair amount of dropoff considering you’re teaching the young guy to dodge live bullets in real-time. We’ve done that to Josh Freeman, We watched it happem to Mike Glennon, and we ate 5 years of Jameis Winston being asked to learn on the job and the results stunk.
July 13th, 2022 at 1:37 pm
Passing . The bucs has failed every quarterback that they drafted in the history of the franchise. Kyle Trask was the only quarterback that put up the most points against ALABAMA that year. And to your point about college every quarterback comes out of college. It all depends on what team you get drafted to . And now so far Jamies looks like a different quarterback with saints. You can’t keep blaming every quarterbacks the bucs drafted at some point you have to look at franchise. I’m rooting for Trask to be the future of the bucs. Yall need to give the guy a chance and not just Trask but also the rest of our young players.
July 13th, 2022 at 3:28 pm
@Oneilbuc
My assessment is dispassionate; it has nothing to do with waving pom poms and cheering on Trask. I’d like to see Trask succeed, but my assessment is rooted in having studied him and the rest of that QB draft class carefully. Trask has some severe challenges he must overcome to become an NFL QB, which is reflected in my grading him as a late third or fourth-round QB prospect.
As with most QBs, the coaching helps, but more importantly, is the maturity and drive of the player. QB is the most mentally taxing position on the field, which makes it imperative that they study the playbook, watch lots of film, and do their best to refine their craft.
As I mentioned, Trask has sloppy footwork. That will take some time to correct. He also needs to clean up his delivery and release. Both of these will help reduce the time the ball is in his hands and improve his accuracy at the NFL level. The greatest challenge for Trask is a Mac Jones virtue: Mac Jones rapidly processes the field, but Trask does not. Most NFL QBs hit a brick wall on that attribute. That’s why Mac Jones was the second-best QB prospect, and that’s also why Trask is both a project and a risk.
July 13th, 2022 at 4:42 pm
Unless he does something this was a waste of a pick. for sure thought that high you might have someone decent but could have used it on another position if this was never going to be the long term answer
July 13th, 2022 at 6:57 pm
I just don’t know about the QB position on the Bucs. We won our first SB with a “Gabbert type” QB. We had QBs who were HORRIBLE on the Bucs (Williams, Testaverde, Young) who all did great elsewhere, much to my astonishment. I hear all of these opinions but, knowing our history, none seem to make much sense.
July 14th, 2022 at 11:33 am
PassingThurSays: I am much smarter then anyone else on this site and I should be scouting for an NFL team.
Did you change your name from DingleBerry to PTS? He was an arrogant moron who liked to think he knew something, but in actuality knew exactly nothing!
July 14th, 2022 at 12:16 pm
Trask is not comparable to Mac Jones in any way, shape or form. Mac Jones as a fairly quick release, quick feet with very sweet pocket presence and has an amazing feel for the game as a passer. Mac Jones is quite similar to Drew Brees, but needs to improve on his throwing power. Kyle Trask is a project in every possible way. Subpar mechanics, slow winded throwing motion, slow feet, tendency to lock into key receivers and make horrible off platform throws that sail in the air. To Trask’s credit, he seemed quite improved by his last preseason game last year. That makes me optimistic about his chances, but the slow feet still concern me big time. As a prospect Trask was way over drafted and Jones was under drafted.