The Tampa Bay Buccaneers spent a second-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft on quarterback Kyle Trask, but he was inactive for every game of his rookie season, while veteran Blaine Gabbert served as the backup to Tom Brady.
Nothing has changed ahead of Trask on this year’s depth chart, and he heads into his second NFL season with the potential for a similar situation in 2022, holding a clipboard while the Bucs try to make another Super Bowl run.
If Trask is to make a strong impression, it’s likely to happen only in practice, where he’ll actually get live reps to show off his talent and development.
During this year’s first voluntary offseason workouts, Trask impressed veteran Bucs tight end Cameron Brate.
“I thought Kyle did a great job today,” Brate said after one practice. “Obviously, it’s tough – he’s working with a whole new group of receivers [and] different groups of offensive linemen, so getting all of those guys on the same page is huge for the quarterback. I thought Kyle did an awesome job with that today, and he made a couple of great throws. You can kind of tell he feels a lot more comfortable this year compared to where he was last year, with a full year of learning the offense.”
Brate believes that the former Florida Gators passer is taking the right approach to his role in Tampa Bay, and has both the mental and physical tools to be successful whenever his opportunity does come.
“I think the future is really bright for Kyle,” Brate said. “I think he has got a really good mindset and demeanor about him to play the quarterback position in the NFL, and obviously the arm talent is there, as well. He’s just got to keep improving and keep stacking these good practices.”
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