Legendary quarterback Tom Brady is retiring after 22 NFL seasons. ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington confirmed the report over the weekend, but Brady held off on making things official until Tuesday.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have to figure out who the next franchise quarterback will be, and the most obvious answer is former Florida Gator Kyle Trask. The Buccaneers took Trask at the end of the second round of the 2021 NFL draft with plans to develop him over the final two years of Brady’s contract. With Brady heading out early, Trask’s time could come a year sooner than expected.
The big question is whether or not he’ll be able to pick up where the future Hall of Famer left off?
All of the weapons are there for Trask to get it done. Mike Evans is one of the league’s top receivers and Chris Godwin should return from an ACL tear early next season. With Brady gone, it wouldn’t be surprising to see tight end Rob Gronkowski retire for the second time, but the team still has Cameron Brate. Trask should be able to produce with Tampa’s pass catchers, even if it isn’t at a Hall of Fame level right away.
This wouldn’t be the first time Trask has had to unexpectedly take over for a team, either. He shined when he got the opportunity at Florida in 2019. He led the Gators to an emotional comeback victory over the Kentucky Wildcats with three fourth-quarter touchdown drives after taking over for an injured Felipe Franks. Florida finished the year 11-2 and beat Virginia in the Orange Bowl.
The next year went even better for Trask. While Florida stumbled to an 8-4 record and lost to Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl, the Florida quarterback broke Danny Wuerffel’s 24-year school record for passing touchdowns in a season with 43. He’d finish fourth in the Heisman race before heading to the pros.
There’s nothing that guarantees a repeat run of success in the NFL, but Trask has the kind of track record you want when it comes time to replace a player like Brady. He’s also been working hard as a backup to prepare for this very moment.
“We’re treating him just as if he’s Tom (Brady),” offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich said in October. “Obviously, he doesn’t get the reps, but in the meetings, he has responsibilities. He has responsibilities for this team, for the room, so we’re trying to teach him how to play the position, really. And he’s got a guy in front of him that he can learn from.”
Now the Buccaneers will have to hope that Trask has learned enough to take over for the greatest quarterback of this generation. There is a chance that Tampa brings in another quarterback to give Trask more time to develop, though. Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians commented on the potential of a Brady retirement and how the team would proceed at quarterback.
“I’d be comfortable if it is,” Arians said when asked about starting the season with Trask or Blaine Gabbert at the helm. “I like what we have, but again, you never know what’s behind Door No. 2. We kind of went down that road two years ago and there was Tom Brady. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Landing an Aaron Rodgers would be enough to hold off Trask’s debut, but anything less could be considered wasting a second-round pick. No one in Tampa wanted to see Brady go, but Trask was drafted to replace him when the time came.
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