Analysis: Let Kyle Trask Compete
February 8th, 2022
Bucs QB Kyle Trask
Joe hasn’t seen this in quite some time.
Joe will offer fair, reasoned analysis on Bucs quarterback Kyle Trask. And if Joe isn’t somehow comparing Trask — who has yet to take a snap in an NFL game — to Tom Brady, Joe is the ultimate hater and a Judas looking to hand over Trask for crucifixion.
Good grief! Joe didn’t know Trask had this many mothers reading this here site.
Joe has stated time and again; Joe has nothing against Trask. How could anyone? Trask has never played in a regular-season game.
A guy who did a deep dive into his pre-draft Trask notes, Todd McShay of BSPN, believes Trask could be an NFL starter but with his lack of experience, he may not be the right Bucs choice right now with a veteran, championship-forged team capable of making a deep playoff run.
However, McShay said if he were Bucs Super Bowl-winning coach Bucco Bruce Arians, he would tell Trask, “If you want the job, go get it. Force us to start you.”
Trask has the skill set and the ability to command an offense that you want to see in your starter. He has the tools, and a year learning behind Brady probably only advanced his game. Experience is something to think about, though. Trask doesn’t have the game experience that most NFL starters have, a result of his extended time as a backup and his multiple injuries.
The Buccaneers can certainly give him a chance to compete for the starter’s job in 2022. But if I’m the GM, I’m also absolutely exploring all other options. To that end, Tampa Bay GM Jason Licht said this week, “We’re not crowning [Trask] as the heir apparent yet.”
Plan A for the Buccaneers should be taking a big swing. The Bucs obviously have a Super Bowl-quality roster with the right quarterback, so Tampa Bay has to be making the calls on the big-name quarterbacks. Think Russell Wilson & Co. there. Plan B, for me, would be bringing in a veteran starter, like Jimmy Garoppolo, Jameis Winston or Teddy Bridgewater. And if the Buccaneers like one of the draft class’ quarterbacks more than Trask, they should very much consider that move in addition to signing or trading for a veteran.
This is sort of what Joe remembers when the Seahawks drafted Russell Wilson in the third round in 2012. Seattle had Tavaris Jackson as an incumbent and had also signed Matt Flynn as a free agent with the plan to start Flynn. Jackson was the fallback option. Wilson wasn’t supposed to start.
What happened? Wilson had such a damn good training camp and preseason that he beat out Flynn and Jackson for the starting gig.
Whoever the Bucs bring in at quarterback, Joe doesn’t see anything wrong in telling Trask, “If you beat out (insert name) in July and August, the starting job his yours.”
Competition is healthy unless you are a headcase like leaky, sleepy Josh Freeman.
February 8th, 2022 at 9:04 am
Competition is healthy unless you get easily stressed out and rattled like Jay-Miss Winston.
Trask should have a fair shot at the starting job. If Pete Carroll didn’t allow competition at every position we would have never heard of Russell Wilson.
February 8th, 2022 at 9:05 am
“The Bucs obviously have a Super Bowl-quality roster with the right quarterback”
lost me right there. If TB can’t overcome the deficiency then he thinks someone else can?
I b;ame it mstly on playcalling, but to say another QB can do better than the GOAT is a joke.
February 8th, 2022 at 9:09 am
I like Sam Howell from NC, but not in Round 1. What I’ve seen of the guy is that he can scramble, but it’s not his first option. Has good pocket awareness and can sling it. I have my doubts about us trading for anyone at QB
February 8th, 2022 at 9:16 am
I’m no confident that our coaches are confident they have confidence in Trask. So like the man from Missouri says, Show Me. Or bring back Famous Jameis at a bargain basement price.
February 8th, 2022 at 9:22 am
I might have to jump off a bridge after reading pinhead Mike Johnson’s comment.
February 8th, 2022 at 9:25 am
Agree Mike Johnson. I have to believe that between BA, Leftwich, Christiansen, and the old coger, Tom Moore. They already know what they have in Trask. Will be very telling if they bring in a Russell Wilson/Derek Carr, etc. vs Jimmy GQ, Andy Dalton, etc.
February 8th, 2022 at 9:27 am
Remember those offseason workouts Brady did with the guys at the high school? That is what it’s going to take. Regardless of who the QB is they need to get some snaps in this offseason and start communicating now. If I’m Trask I’d already be calling guys who are definitely coming back and working out schedules. Pretty sure Trask hasn’t thrown with the starters much. If we bring in another QB he can join them. Winning next season starts before training camp.
February 8th, 2022 at 9:28 am
People are really missing the fact that Gabbert and BA are besties and obviously BA thinks he has been good backup QB throughout his career. Gabbert knows BA and Bucs system. No point in signing some other sh!t FA QB that doesn’t know the system or end up broke because we tried to go after and expensive QB.
Plan A: Resign Gabbert to start the year and if things go totally down hill, give Trask the ball.
February 8th, 2022 at 9:29 am
Being Gabbert back on a cheap deal and give him half a year to see if he can win. If he can’t, give Trask the rest of the year to see what he can do. In the meantime, the money saved will allow us to keep all the free agents we need to sign. If neither one does well we will have a high draft pick to use on a quarterback next year and a strong supporting cast to give him some support
February 8th, 2022 at 9:35 am
Trask over Gabbert all day every day and especially every Sunday. Big no to blaine gabbert. Bring in Jimmy G and he will get hurt then play Trask–allow him to compete with Jimmy G and if he beats him out then he plays
February 8th, 2022 at 9:37 am
@ Irishmist
This scenario makes the most sense to me.
Gabbert is cheap and knows BA’s system very well. Let him compete with Trask. If Gabbert wins the starting job let him play the firest half of the season (if he stays healthy) and see how it goes.
If Gabbert struggles bring in Trask and give him a shot to show what he is capable of. We will never know until we give the kid a shot.
February 8th, 2022 at 9:39 am
So let’s pretend that QBs don’t get drafted and immediately penned in as the starter. This isn’t a wait and see league anymore. Either he can or he can’t. That’s it. Play him. I’m sure he’s not going to be any worse than Gabbert. Or if he is, I guess we’ll know during the combine and the draft if they’re looking at a QB.
February 8th, 2022 at 9:42 am
Let Trask compete for the position against Rodgers, Wilson, CArr and maybe Jimmy G. 🙂 Lets do it!
February 8th, 2022 at 9:49 am
Out of all realistic options. A QB on a rookie deal would probably be the best.
February 8th, 2022 at 9:57 am
I preferr taking the risk on Trask, and not JW or Bridgewater.
I would only trade for a good QB if we don´t have to give much, if not I am not interested ….100% behind Trask
February 8th, 2022 at 9:58 am
Are you suggesting *no* quarterback other than Tom Brady can win the Super Bowl?
February 8th, 2022 at 10:02 am
This draft is not strong on QB’s. The Winston clone from Liberty that will be aavailablewhen the Bucs pic would be an absolute nightmare. The Lions are highbon him if that is any indication to run the other way.
Lesko_ Brandon seems to have the most logical plan. But he forgot the high probability of Mayfield and Murray
February 8th, 2022 at 10:06 am
We have have several years of Jameis. He’s garbage. He’s a bust. Move on.
Trask was never really a standout at UF. I’m 50/50 but for him competing. It’d be nice if the option to snag a decorated vet occurs but definitely not worth breaking the draft board to do so.
February 8th, 2022 at 10:06 am
The Bucs will not have a Stupor Bowl quality team if they spend a bunch on an almost QB because Trask has no NFL snaps.
Build the team around the QB position and put Trask, or Gabbert, into a winning position. Let them compete every week.
If Gabbert wins that, he can start, but I think it will only be for four or so games. I estimate those games as 2-2, but Gabbert will hurt his shoulder, again, and Trask won’t look back after getting the job.
February 8th, 2022 at 10:18 am
McShay … ‘Plan A for the Buccaneers should be taking a big swing. The Bucs obviously have a Super Bowl-quality roster with the right quarterback, so Tampa Bay has to be making the calls on the big-name quarterbacks. Think Russell Wilson & Co. there.’
That’s not Plan A; that’s Plan Z … sending the Bucs back to the Stone Age & renaming RayJay ‘The Den of Depression’. Big swings cost big bucks AND precious draft picks. Want to pry Russell Wilson away from Seattle? They’d be more than happy to oblige I suspect, providing that Bucs are willing to inherit his hefty $37 mil salary AND give the Seahawks the appropriate number of high draft picks. (Think Revis 2.0).
And in the process what would the Bucs have accomplished? Oh ya, ‘rented’ a very capable QB for 1-year, overspent our current salary CAP by $20 mil, and that’s BEFORE we sign a single FA or pay for our new draft class.
Almost half (5) of our starting defense slots (CB, OLB, DT, DE, S) are unfilled right now, and about the same (5) number for our offense (C, RG, TE, WR, RB). Several of our key rotational players are FAs. Why in heaven’s name folks keep saying that we’ve got a Super Bowl roster is a mystery to me. Sign the talent we NEED to fill those slots THEN say that.
February 8th, 2022 at 10:23 am
Absolutely…..bring in a QB that Trask can compete with……if he can’t win, he doesn’t deserve the job.
Suggestions….other than Gabbert……Bridgewater, Mariota, Flaco, Dalton, Winston (reluctantly) Trubisky
Any of those QBs can take us to the playoffs if Trask isn’t ready…..
February 8th, 2022 at 10:24 am
Ok im not a bucs fan but im saying give him a chance in the NFL he a 1 year guy and i think he can be a good NFL player. No they should not get Jamson Back that is not a smart idea they tried him back in day time to move on and go with there 1 year let him get used to the nfl
February 8th, 2022 at 10:25 am
Hard to believe that Trask had the ability to read nfl defenses very fast at this point when the real bullets start to fly. We need a veteran that can take this team back to the SB with the limited window of veteran talent. Trask needs to get actual game time reps, when and if the Bucs get commanding leads in games. Right now we need a top rated veteran QB if we want to get into the SB. The Bucs have never successfully developed a rookie QB and I don’t expect that trend to change with Trask.
February 8th, 2022 at 10:28 am
@ Defense Rules
McShay is clueless with this take…
‘Plan A for the Buccaneers should be taking a big swing. The Bucs obviously have a Super Bowl-quality roster with the right quarterback, so Tampa Bay has to be making the calls on the big-name quarterbacks. Think Russell Wilson & Co. there.’
The Bucs HAD a Super Bowl roster… HAD.
Now the reality is we have a roster missing 12 starters and a total of 26 in house free agents to sign and limited cap space.
Plus we select #27 in this years draft.
This is the kind of lazy analysis from the talking heads I am so fed up with. Don’t these goons get paid tons of dough? But they can’t do 5 minutes of research?
LOL!!!
February 8th, 2022 at 10:32 am
What about Matt Ryan? Haven’t seen his name mentioned anywhere. He could be a good veteran option and would have better talent around him then he’s had in Atlanta for some time. Also, he’d be much better cheaper than a lot of other options. To me, he would make some sense. Garrapolo and Bridgewater are game managers at best and wouldn’t be able to keep up with our defense getting beat every game
February 8th, 2022 at 11:08 am
I’d rather try to salvage Trubisky than revisit Winston. Bridgewater is exactly how much better than Gabbert?….Just stick with Gabbert in that scenario, he knows the offense.
February 8th, 2022 at 11:37 am
i agree w tbbf above and would add nick foles and tyler huntley to the list though the two choices represent to different philosophies about the future of trask
February 8th, 2022 at 11:37 am
two not to
February 8th, 2022 at 12:04 pm
@Defense Rules
Exactly.
The problem is that narrative doesn’t equate to very many clicks so the national media needs to speculate the idiotic to generate interest.
The Bengals are in the Super Bowl after going 4-12 last year. The NFL is wierd like that. Keep building the roster. There’s more than one way to skin a cat.
February 8th, 2022 at 12:14 pm
I see a lot of folks have forgotten what a rotten franchise looks like. Here we are wanting to mortgage our future for the present, which BTW is no guarantee anyway (see TB12 2021).
Trask SHOULD compete. It makes the most sense of any statement out there to date.
SBs have been won with lesser-talented QBs. We had one here named Brad Johnson! He had a TEAM surrounding him. Even Trent Dilfer won a SB!!!
February 8th, 2022 at 12:34 pm
True. I could make the case that when Tom Brady won his first Super Bowl that he was a lesser-talented QB. Peyton Manning was a lesser-talented QB in his final season. You also have Joe Flacco, Ben Roethlissberger (rookie year), Nick Foles, and I could even argue Eli Manning was never a top 10 QB in any year of his career. It can be done.
February 8th, 2022 at 12:36 pm
I believe could be our starting QB if given the chance.
February 8th, 2022 at 12:50 pm
“Trask was never really a standout at UF.”
Yeah, if breaking UF’s single season passing records doesn’t count as “standout”
February 8th, 2022 at 1:02 pm
Why would anyone in their right mind start Gabbert. We know what he is a below average QB that is nothing more than a backup. He is basically a crappier version of Ryan Fitzpatrick. We don’t know what we have in Trask so if they don’t sign a big name QB in free agency Trask should then be the starter.
February 8th, 2022 at 1:12 pm
BA has one more year left here. New HC,OC and maybe DC thereafter.
Don’t pollute an overpriced FA QB with a whole new offense, receivers and team for one year only.
Bring back Gabbert to start then we ease Trask in. If it collapses like a house of cards, and it might, we haven’t mortgaged the future.
I’m not sure BA and BL’s no risk it offense didn’t contribute somewhat to TB’s exit.
February 8th, 2022 at 1:22 pm
HERE’S THE “BIG” QUESTION ON KYLE TRASK…
Why was he made inactive for playoff games when Brady, Gabbert, and GRIFFIN were activated instead?
That seems a bit concerning to me. Has Trask not progressed like they had hoped he would by now?
February 8th, 2022 at 1:40 pm
so much we could do with KT and our money and our draft picks
February 8th, 2022 at 1:48 pm
“HERE’S THE “BIG” QUESTION ON KYLE TRASK…
Why was he made inactive for playoff games when Brady, Gabbert, and GRIFFIN were activated instead?
That seems a bit concerning to me. Has Trask not progressed like they had hoped he would by now?”
Why would you activate the fourth string quarterback? I think everybody knows the ideal situation is for a rookie QB to ride the bench for at least the first year. Also injuries, we had a ton of them that were game time decisions. We needed the extra roster spot.
February 8th, 2022 at 2:38 pm
Posey99
The question is, why would you start a 4th string quarterback? Trask is clearly not ready
February 8th, 2022 at 2:40 pm
UM………..Trey Lance only started in 17 games and it was with North Dakota St. for Chrissakes!!!!
February 8th, 2022 at 2:42 pm
Tbbucs3 Says:
February 8th, 2022 at 2:38 pm
Posey99
The question is, why would you start a 4th string quarterback? Trask is clearly not ready
…………
WHO the He!! are you to say stuff like that? Are you on the coaching staff? Do you have some secret technology where you have watched Trask for the last yr in practices?
SMDH so many arm chair ‘experts’ out there with opinions that aren’t worth stick of gum.
February 8th, 2022 at 5:55 pm
Bradinator, Sam Howell is interesting and has a nice tape, but he looked terrible in the Senior Bowl. Somehow looked weak armed. Howell, Pickett, Strong, Corral…they need to be evaluated by scouts directly.
Connor, I would love to see Matt Ryan. He is in the final year of his contract. He’s right there with the best, but on a bad team. Coming to TB would be an ideal opportunity for him to finally get a SB. Problem is, division rival = no deal. And it would be costly.
February 8th, 2022 at 6:39 pm
If Trask reaches his peak, it would still be a downgrade from J. Winston. Is that really where we want to be? I liked the upgrade over Winston much better, and I think there are a bunch of great QBs who wouldn’t mind picking up where Brady left off…
February 8th, 2022 at 6:39 pm
BradyBucs … From what I remember reading last summer, it was always the Bucs’ plan to let Trask just be a sponge this past year, shadowing Brady & learning from him. Due to COVID rules, Bucs had the luxury of protecting Trask (and I believe 3 others) for each game. He never dressed to my knowledge. BTW, neither did Jose Borregales, the kicker who we protected all year (gut feel is that there’s a reason for that).
What I keep wondering is ‘Who ran the scout team last season?’. Typically I think it’s the QB on the Practice Squad. Did Ryan Griffen run it this past year or did Kyle Trask? My guess is that it was Griff, and that’s likely why the Bucs kept him on the roster (didn’t want to have Kyle Trask learning bad lessons?). My other guess is we’ll never know though.
February 8th, 2022 at 9:35 pm
Yeah Jameis Winston…that’s the ticket. The most divisive player perhaps in Buc history who had to have his pic removed from the side of RayJay!
A head case now rehabbing from a bad ACL injury. JW reminds me of Freeman without the running ability. Cannon for an arm…but not a new rifled cannon rather a Revolutionary War cannon with minimal accuracy.
JW could have been a great relief pitcher with that arm and his wildness may have been an asset with his fastball. Wild Thing in real life.
It’s not just that he has baggage…HIS baggage drug this franchise down bigtime and too many of us will not forget that. It’s not just the pressure to follow the GOAT there’s the pressure to follow the JW image.
Just check yer sheets! How many people blamed his interceptions in his big stat year on BA’s “no risk it” offense. Meanwhile Brady comes in and the ‘experts” all said he’d struggle with that offense because he couldn’t throw deep. How did those predictions work out. JW simply sucked despite his gaudy stats.
Hard pass on JW!
February 8th, 2022 at 10:10 pm
@SPBF:
Nice post! +1
tickrdr