“QB Purgatory”
February 19th, 2023
Thin ice?
It seems the Bucs are between a rock and a hard place, the very worst position to be in.
That’s the word from Jeremy Fowler of BSPN. The NFL columnist decided to pigeonhole teams into various categories. With the Bucs, Fowler thinks they are worse than in salary cap hell. They are in “QB Purgatory.”
What is quarterback purgatory? No proven quarterback and the team is just bad enough to miss the playoffs but too good to have a decent draft pick to land a franchise quarterback.
What’s next: With the three-year Tom Brady window now closed, the Bucs could take calculated risks in efforts to remain a contender. Answers at quarterback are not clear-cut, but they could inquire about Derek Carr, Aaron Rodgers and others — or roll with Kyle Trask, a second-round pick in 2021. The sense I get from Tampa Bay players is that Trask is the favorite as of now.
The team might not want to break up the nucleus, but cap hits for wideout Mike Evans ($23.7 million), pass-rusher Shaquil Barrett ($21.2 million) and offensive tackle Donovan Smith ($17.9 million) will need to be addressed somehow. A tough decision looms on linebacker Devin White, a supreme talent who had an uneven year and is a free agent in 2024. Do the Bucs want to extend his contract now?
To put this in more simple terms as Joe read on the Pro Football Network site, without unloading their top-shelf players, the Bucs aren’t (yet) bad enough to get in position to draft Caleb Williams or Drake Maye in 2024. A top-five draft pick likely would be needed for a shot at either quarterback.
There is just no way to believe anyone would trade for Shaq Barrett. The dude is damaged goods. Anyone trading for an edge rusher who is turning 30 and coming off a blown Achilles should be drug-tested by his team.
Donovan Smith sure picked the wrong time to have his worst year in terms of missed games with injuries and poor overall play.
February 19th, 2023 at 12:36 am
Do NOT need Caleb OR Drake….
Bucs drafting qbs in top round extremely elevates their chances of being a BUST!
IF Trask fails, the Bucs need an experienced but youngish qb that will be a 10+ year qb for the Bucs… Carr, Jimmy G would be nice; Mayfield would be great for long term if he can be properly developed!
February 19th, 2023 at 12:57 am
Bucs are in the Bowels of purgatory. But it will get better soon. I’ve grown up, I used to be ultra negative but I’m converted.
Let’s look on the bright side.
The past Bucs rebuilds have averaged 12 years to sniff another playoff game. It won’t take that long this time. Because, well, because………….it’s an interesting process and we’ll just observe, cheer, and only criticize if it’s subtle.
Yay Bucs!
February 19th, 2023 at 1:04 am
Would hate to have to dump Shaq and Donny for nothing in return but it may be best for the financial health of this team.
February 19th, 2023 at 1:42 am
I wouldn’t say we are in QB purgatory. With Trask the team is currently in QB Hell until he proves he’s at least an average QB. QB Hell is fine in a rebuild year with two good QB prospects next year. Signing Carr or Jimmy G would put us in QB purgatory with an awful cap situation. Now that’s the worst spot you could be
February 19th, 2023 at 1:43 am
Goatfarmer Says:
February 19th, 2023 at 12:57 am
You’re laying it on a little thick… I mean, it’s funny I guess.
February 19th, 2023 at 1:48 am
Only responding to your thick passive aggressive hypocrisy, susquiffer. Not trying to be funny.
February 19th, 2023 at 2:45 am
I predict if given the chance Trask will surprise us all and have a nice season. He could be the answer we are looking for. It bothers me that so many media types and Buc sheep are being negative about him without actually knowing how he may play. He’s looked decent in preseason games with future grocery baggers and used car salesman so I can only surmise that given the chance with the number ones he might be terrific.
February 19th, 2023 at 3:01 am
Rand — your prediction is based on what, exactly? Half the 1st round QBs bust. The percentages get more dire with each passing round. For every Joe Burrows there are multiple times more Ryan Leafs. And that’s the first round.
Trask has not demonstrted to be worthy of beating out Gabbert. There are a bunch of backup QB fetishists who think the guy they’ve never seen is going to be it. Might as well throw a dead carp on the field and see what it does.
There’s a reason you haven’t seen Trask yet. He isn’t and won’t be NFL ready. Speed of the game and the tightest of windows. Glennon looks like Marino compared to this guy.
In college he was very good. Even won the starters job his last year. But in the NFL he follows Tebow, Wuerrful, Grossman, Shane Matthews, Kerwin Bell, Jesse Palmer, John Reaves, Steve Spurrier…..who all had illustrious college careers. In the pros, he sucks. Had sucked. Has sucked. Will suck. And will have sucked when he’s out of the league in a few years or after he gets Bowels fired for being foolish enough to throw him out there, as many are calling for.
He will be an awesome human and make tons of money, win humanitarian awards galore. As NFL QB — no.
February 19th, 2023 at 3:27 am
Goatfarmer your opposite view point that he will suck holds as much water, you do not know (despite the fact that you have such a massive ego you think that you can see into the future). Cause everyone had BROCK PURDY taken the 9ers to the NFC championship and who knows if he didn’t get hurt…. you don’t know anything goatf$#*er.
February 19th, 2023 at 3:34 am
Mike C — I watched every one of his games in college. Watched every snap.
Did you?
February 19th, 2023 at 4:03 am
The nice thing about Trask is if he makes us competitive we have an interesting season ahead of us. If he yacks like Bill the Cat we have a top five pick.
February 19th, 2023 at 4:32 am
Goatfarmer
Rand — your prediction is based on what, exactly?
_______________________________________________
I thought I made it clear. Your reading comprehension fails you.
again, just for you
“He looked decent in preseason games with future grocery baggers and used car salesman”
February 19th, 2023 at 4:32 am
Goatfarmer, as we have seen, play in college does not predict the future. No one likes uncertainty , I get it. But the fact is YOU DO NOT KNOW.
February 19th, 2023 at 4:43 am
The naysayers are all using the line He couldn’t beat out Gabbert. Maybe Brady wanted Gabbert to back him up because of his NFL experience. This notion that Gabbert is better than Trask doesn’t hold weight. Trask has looked better than Gabbert in his diminished role as 3rd string. Plus, wasn’t that the plan in the 1st place? For Trask to sit and learn behind Brady, and Gabbert.
February 19th, 2023 at 4:58 am
Hendon Hooker
February 19th, 2023 at 5:25 am
Please watch the tape on this guy ! Hendon Hooker!
February 19th, 2023 at 5:31 am
I don’t see that the Bucs are ‘between a rock and a hard place’ Joe. Like every other NFL team, we have some hard choices to make. But that happens every year (until Tom Brady fell into our lap in 2020 we faced the same problem after Winston’s 2019 year & him wanting a big new contract).
Bucs don’t need to sign a big-name QB right now; we need to right the ship from a salary CAP perspective for the coming years so that we can compete for the title again. There are some very good teams out there right now; the Bucs almost surely aren’t at the top of that list. We’re entering a rebuilding phase, and as a consequence Vegas won’t designate us as the favorite to win the Super Bowl. I honestly believe that most Bucs’ fans understand that and accept it.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t still put a decent team on the field and be competitive. BUT … we do have to RE-INVENT OURSELVES somewhat. It’s one thing to be a pass-first offense when you have The GOAT behind center; quite another to ask a rookie QB to perform at the same level (preferably better since we did go 8-10 on the season). Got a hunch that’s exactly what the Bucs are trying to do right now (re-invent ourselves).
Defensively the challenge is enormous. Coming back as starters we’ll HOPEFULLY have seasoned vets in Vea, Shaq, White, Davis & Winfield. Also HOPE that JTS & Hall can improve (significantly) over what the put on tape last season. Beyond that we not only need several more starters but we desperately need to improve our DEPTH.
Will it work? Can we meet those challenges & set the foundation for coming years in the process? None of US know right now; pure speculation on all our parts. The fun part about JoeBucsFan is sharing that speculation & in the process learning some ‘stuff’ from each other HOPEFULLY.
Unfortunately some exchanges remind of pig wrestling: ‘Never wrestle with a pig; you both get dirty, but the pig loves it’. Some others remind me of challenging skunks: ‘Get in a pissin contest with a skunk and you’ll always come out smelling worse than he does’.
February 19th, 2023 at 5:38 am
Trask slurpers slurp. He couldn’t beat out Flippy Franks in college until Flippy wrecked his knee. Any mediocre college QB would shine with that Gators roster. So obviously, Mike C, you didn’t watch any of his snaps in college but are enthralled by his stats. Maybe we could bring Ryan Leaf out of retirement / prison / rehab for you. He had nice stats too.
February 19th, 2023 at 5:39 am
BTW — I do like Hendon Hooker. Way better pro prospect that Trahskch
February 19th, 2023 at 6:09 am
Bro, I never said he was good…. I just said we don’t know if he is bad. But go ahead and make up the conversation in your head.
February 19th, 2023 at 6:21 am
I’m too old to wait another 20 years for another Super Bowl, but I’d rather blow it all up now and start over instead of stringing out a bunch of 6-11, 7-10 seasons trying to stay relevant now.
February 19th, 2023 at 6:37 am
“too good to have a decent draft pick to land a franchise quarterback”
You mean like Jameis Winston? 😛
February 19th, 2023 at 6:39 am
FOWLER: “The sense I get from Tampa Bay players is that Trask is the favorite as of now.”
Oops. One Bucs Palace obviously thinks little of Goathumper and Roddie Munchie. 😛
February 19th, 2023 at 6:43 am
JOE: “get in position to draft Caleb Williams or Drake Maye in 2024”
Because Jameis Winston worked out so well. 😛
February 19th, 2023 at 6:48 am
Rand Says: “I predict if given the chance Trask will surprise us all and have a nice season. It bothers me that so many media types and Bucs sheep are being negative about him without actually knowing how he may play. He’s looked decent in preseason games with future grocery baggers and used car salesman so.”
You gotta understand the two forces that are joined at the hips against Trask: FSU fans and wokeness.
February 19th, 2023 at 6:57 am
Should have cut Donavan after Super Bowl! He’s a bum that had one good year
February 19th, 2023 at 7:09 am
And again pointing to college to predict NFL success always works out, so all your snap watching amounts to a hill of beans…. you don’t know spit.
February 19th, 2023 at 7:09 am
Kyle trask has been with the team long enough for the coaching staff to know what they have. He was never going to leapfrog Brady into the starting slot, but he was unable to beat out Gabbert as no. 2. That’s a huge red flag.
He’s not the answer.
February 19th, 2023 at 7:11 am
Goathumper Says:
“Rand — your prediction is based on what, exactly?”
That’s rich, coming from the queen of drivel, nary a fact.
“There’s a reason you haven’t seen Trask yet.”
Correct. And that reason was given by Bucs QB Coach Clyde Christensen before the 2022 training camp: “I don’t see Trask competing with Gabbert this year. He could do it but all the odds are stacked against him. It is hard enough to get enough Gabbert reps. We will prepare Gabbert as No. 2.” In other words, Gabbert as #2 was set in stone (as per Tom Brady).
“Trask has not demonstrated to be worthy of beating out Gabbert.”
There was never a competition between Trask and Gabbert. The Bucs’ quarterback coach said so himself (“We will prepare Gabbert as No. 2”).
“He isn’t and won’t be NFL ready. Speed of the game.”
LOL. Trask lit up the SEC, the fastest conference in all of football – and did so with no running game.
“Trask won the starter’s job his last year.”
LOL. Exposed again as a liar about being a “Gators fan.” Trask lit up the SEC for his last TWO seasons, 2019 and 2020.
Time to change your moniker, Goathumper. May I suggest “Liar”? 😛
February 19th, 2023 at 7:24 am
Arians told us how good Gabby is
I think he or trask could help us to at least be an average team
I don’t expect much out of either of them – but I’m, not an NFL coach, I just play one on the internet sometimes
February 19th, 2023 at 7:38 am
Goathumper.. lol Now that was funny bucboy..
February 19th, 2023 at 7:47 am
Shaq is a good player but not worth more than half of what they are paying him. I mean he had 19.5 sacks his pro bowl year and its taken him three years to get 21. Smith has played all those years without missing games and hes done worn out he will be a lot worse this year.
February 19th, 2023 at 7:49 am
Just keep Gabbert and trask and draft a QB late. Trade all the old pros if can.
February 19th, 2023 at 7:50 am
I have pointed it out before and some seem to forget that Brady did not respond well at all to the Patriots drafting a young QB with promise to be the number 2. Trask being kept in that number three spot and not getting practice reps was for Brady for all any of us know.
On another note it would probably be much clearer at this point if we still had the same offensive staff before and they came out and said Trask was our QB moving forward but we had to get rid of them all so we as the fans have no clue what the new OC thinks of Trask.
Also did you all see on Twitter somebody posted a screenshot of the 2023 standings with the Bucs projected to finish last? And Caleb Williams replied to that tweet with himself in a Bucs uniform saying he approved of the script that has the Bucs drafting him #1
February 19th, 2023 at 7:53 am
Hell the Bucs have been in qb purgatory for all but 7-8 years of there existence
February 19th, 2023 at 7:57 am
None of the retread $25-$30 Mil QBs are going to lead the Bucs to the promise land so go inexpensive with Trask, Gabbert or? Save some money, balance the checkbook this year and get out of the cap pinch.
February 19th, 2023 at 8:01 am
Unfortunately, our opinions on this really don’t matter that much……there is a trade off….
Go with Trask….save some cap….keep some other players like Dean, LVD….hope to win.
or..pay a bunch of money on a FA QB….kick the cap further….lose some players….hope to win.
I am far more in favor of going with Trask and righting the ship for the future.
February 19th, 2023 at 8:01 am
That’s true Jeff’s Grandpa.
And agreed Stat Insignificant, I don’t completely understand the cap but I don’t know the Bucs could make enough room any how.
February 19th, 2023 at 8:04 am
Bucs should go with Trask and Gabbert and draft in late rounds a guy like Adrian Martinez, Kansas St, Nebraska, who has size, arm and mobility to be an NFL QB who could develop with coaching.
Spend the top picks on DLine, TE and LB
February 19th, 2023 at 8:58 am
The Kitties shed their spendy players a couple of years ago and are now in a position of strength.
I’m sure trading McCafferty was painful for fans, but I’ll bet that wound has healed, and those same fans see a much brighter future.
Kicking the cap can down the road is OK IF there is a chance, a real shot, of a SB.
The key is a HC who buys into the “fix the cap and acquire picks” strategery and an entire supportive organization, top to bottom.
I doubt Bowles buys into it, or at least he’s made not one peep in that direction. Most “dead men walking” wouldn’t.
I want this team to fix the cap, and get younger and faster. We had a nice run, an unforgettable run. It’s time to move forward in a healthy manner.
Please: no spendy mediocre QB. Go with Trask and maybe a decent affordable vet, Gabbert, Lock, whoever.
With Evans, it makes no sense to trade him if you’re trying to fix the cap. Makes no sense to re-up David to a big contract. Makes sense to trade White. Makes sense to try keeping Dean.
February 19th, 2023 at 9:05 am
Didn’t Grossman get to the SB and list to Manning in a down pour?
February 19th, 2023 at 9:17 am
No team will pay Shaq agreed. They also won’t eat $27.5M for Evan’s. Good player but not great anymore.
February 19th, 2023 at 9:40 am
Drew Lock will come in and beat Trask out. Gators fans will cry foul. They are always the victim.
February 19th, 2023 at 10:19 am
Breaking…Bucs looking at Terry Bradshaw. Will the call him to save the day?
February 19th, 2023 at 10:20 am
Hooker’s only get you in trouble. 😬😬😬😬
My prediction will be they sign a cheap bridge QB in FA like Mayfield or Gabbert. Maybe they lure Smith here too. None of these options I like BUT i think next year they get their finances in order to sign the 3 big Ws (Wirfs, Winfield, White).
I see them also parting with high priced, poor performing vets like Smith, Barrett, Gage, Fournette, Brate. Maybe David leaves 😔.
Regardless, tough year coming but it is necessary to get younger and rebuild in some areas.
February 19th, 2023 at 10:32 am
How about this a collage QB in one year completed 301 pass out of 437 att. that’s 68.9 % for 4283 yards 9.8 yards per att. and 43 TDs to 8 Ints. Wolud this be a guy to go after??
February 19th, 2023 at 10:45 am
Time to bite the bullet and empty this septic tank
February 19th, 2023 at 10:50 am
“the same problem after Winston’s 2019 year & him wanting a big new contract”
Dodged a bullet there eh? Again JW is probably one of the more affordable QB’s to be had. Has he learned his lessons? Probably doesn’t matter given the new direction that will apparently require a more mobile QB.
February 19th, 2023 at 10:59 am
Yeah Rand. What we have seen is OK. Leaving us with a lot of questions. But I can’t say the Glazers have seen the same thing we have. Here is the bottom line. If they go out and drop big money on a FA QB, they obviously don’t think he looks like a franchise QB at this time. If they don’t, they think he looks to have the potential you do. Just watch…you will get your answer.
February 19th, 2023 at 11:01 am
stpete. An answer to you…no he hasn’t learned his “lesson”. If he had with his abilities, he would have started last year all year in NO after recovering from any and all injury. He didn’t. He is water under the bridge. Wish him luck, but he looks every inch the perennial backup.
February 19th, 2023 at 11:23 am
Play Trask a lot during preseason. But I can tell ya right now..He ain’t the one. Hell, if he could not beat out Gabbert I don’t think he will beat out any vet we choose. But definitely play Trask in our preseason. We gotta see if this guy is going to remotely even pan out. Time to stop pampering this kid. Into The Fray kid. Good Luck.
February 19th, 2023 at 11:41 am
Funny Trask had way better stats coming out of collage then Gabbert.
February 19th, 2023 at 12:28 pm
We are going to have the first pick in the draft in 24
Problem is Jason usually gets one good player every 3 drafts….
February 19th, 2023 at 12:49 pm
An offensive line like a chain, is only as good as its weakest link. Knowing this, and that a quarterback cannot complete a pass laying on his back; does it really matter who the qb is this year?
Until that chain link gets every link fixed, the results will be somewhat the same for any qb, and running game; for that matter….
February 19th, 2023 at 12:59 pm
Didn’t ‘meatloaf’ sing something about 3 out of 5 ain’t bad?
Or was that 2 out of 3?
We’ll you get the jist.
February 19th, 2023 at 1:06 pm
Going with Trask is a win-win. He plays well and becomes the franchise guy, or he sucks and Bowles gets fired and we get a really high draft pick. This would be a good situation for him to step into. Good WRs, Young up and coming TE, and decent RB tandem. Jensen coming back immediately provides a boost to the OL, so I would expect the run game to be better. Hopefully the new OC can come up with a creative audience. I’d like to see Smith shipped off.
February 19th, 2023 at 1:41 pm
Mike Johnson Says: “Trask ain’t the one. Hell, he could not beat out Gabbert.”
For the umpteenth time, Brady came here not for Tampa, not for the Bucs, not for the beaches, but to win Super Bowls. And he wanted a veteran backup during his Super Bowl runs. That’s Gabbert. Gabbert was handed the #2 job and there was never any competition between him and Trask for #2. The Bucs quarterback coach, Clyde Christense, said so himself:
“I DON’T SEE TRASK COMPETING WITH GABBERT FOR THE BACKUP JOB. YOU CAN’T REP EVERYBODY, IT’S HARD TO GET GABBERT ENOUGH REPS. SO WE’LL PREPARE GABBERT AS THE NO. 2.”
Do all Trask haters struggle with reading comprehension?
February 19th, 2023 at 2:58 pm
It is Trask who is in Quarterback hell having to listen to the nattering neighbobs of negativity constantly whining and sniveling , without cause, about absolutely nothing! Like he had to do when he , as a walk on at Florida , had to do when he took over the qb duties at Florida because of a season ending injury to their high speed starting quarterback and the same class of snivelers came out of the woodwork moaning about gloom and doom, saying all was lost , and all Trask did was become one of the greatest quarterbacks Florida ever had! When Trask is given the opportunity and proves himself to be the exceptional quarterback he is, I would not blame him if looked up every one of your media monikers, list them all together ,and verbally bitch slap every one of you like you have done to him, except I believe he has always demonstrated too much class for that.
February 19th, 2023 at 4:35 pm
I say let the suck begin. I’d hand the job to Trask get another QB nobody wants that’s cheap for backup. If they turn out to be good great.But if not your not so overly invested that it becomes difficult to move on, and we get the added bonus of a great pick next year. At that point we can look at free agent QBs or draft one that we believe is capable of leading the team.
February 19th, 2023 at 7:11 pm
JonCyn90 Says:
February 19th, 2023 at 10:32 am
*college
Plenty of QBs put up gaudy stats and don’t make it in the NFL.
February 19th, 2023 at 7:24 pm
Need to find out what you have in Trask.
Why get a QB that will never win you a SB but possibly keep you from ever drafting high?
That is a cycle we do not want to start
February 20th, 2023 at 7:00 am
sasquatch Says: “Plenty of QBs put up gaudy stats and don’t make it in the NFL.”
But plenty do make it in the NFL. Indeed, gaudy stats are precisely why you like the college quarterbacks that you like, right?
February 20th, 2023 at 7:01 am
sasquatch Says: “Plenty of QBs put up gaudy stats and don’t make it in the NFL.”
But plenty do make it. Indeed, gaudy stats are precisely why you like the college quarterbacks that you like, right?
February 20th, 2023 at 11:13 am
Trask was a dumb pick at the time but have to give him a true shot to win the job. The QB class is much better next year.
February 20th, 2023 at 2:27 pm
Interesting that the Goatfarmer claims to have converted from negativity then rants and blast Trask in an ultra negative post follow-up.
I watched plenty of Trask at UF, he looks to me like he can play football, I’m all for giving him an opportunity to win the starting job. I’d like to see what he can do with a starting cast around him.