After two seasons of being behind Tom Brady, Kyle Trask will compete with Baker Mayfield to be the Buccaneers’ starting quarterback in 2023.
A 2021 second-round pick out of Florida, Trask told reporters in his Monday press conference that he’s been told it’s an “open competition” at QB. But Trask has tried to keep his offseason approach consistent as he enters his third season.
“For me, this is a good opportunity for me, and a great opportunity for me to compete with someone like Baker — who has definitely proven himself in this league,” Trask said. “So, it will be very fun to get to know him and compete with him every day.”
With it being an open competition, Trask recognizes that the Bucs will put the best option on the field to start the season behind center.
“At the end of the day, I know that the team’s going to do what they have to do to put whoever on the field that’s going to allow our team to be the most successful,” Trask said. “And for me, I feel this time that I really need to hone in and be as consistent as I can. At the end of the day, I’m just trying to do whatever I can to make this team succeed.
“And fortunately enough, I’ve had two years of prior experience with a very veteran quarterback room and there’s a lot to take away from that. And I’m going to try to implement some of those styles and routines that they had into my routine and hopefully that will make us more successful at the end of the day.”
In two seasons, Trask’s only regular-season playing time came in Week 18 of last year when he completed 3-of-9 passes for 23 yards in Tampa Bay’s loss to Atlanta. He was on the field for only 10 snaps, but Trask said that time was valuable.
“It was awesome, and just great experience for me because prior to that it’s only been preseason reps and scout team and whatever I get in practice,” Trask said. “But to really see some live bullets and get a better feel for the speed of the game was, I think, huge for me.”
Trask said he met Mayfield for the first time on Monday, along with several of his new teammates.
“Great person, great dude,” Trask said of Mayfield. “And it just makes me that much more excited because now we’ve got the opportunity to see everybody who’s going to be in that quarterbacks room, and primarily who’s going to be in that offensive room day to day. And it just makes me that much more excited to come to work.
“We’ve got a lot of energetic faces just ready to get to work and try to help this team win.”
