Tag: Kyle Trask

Should the Bucs pick a QB in the 2024 NFL draft?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers might want to invest in a long-term backup plan at quarterback with a late-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have the same exact quarterback room for the 2024 season that they had last year, bringing valuable continuity to the game’s most important position.

But should they start planning for the future?

Baker Mayfield is back on a new three-year contract extension, securing the starting spot for the foreseeable future. Kyle Trask is heading into the final year of his rookie contract, while veteran John Wolford is back on a one-year deal as the third-stringer.

Trask, a second-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft, has barely touched the field, and hasn’t shown the Bucs anything that would warrant a contract extension after the 2024 season. Wolford is a fantastic veteran presence to have in the room, especially considering his knowledge of the offense from his time with Liam Coen when both were with the Los Angeles Rams.

Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

If the Bucs want to replace Trask with a long-term project, they could find a late-round pick to fill that role, and this year’s draft class should give them some intriguing options.

Tennessee’s Joe Milton III would be an ideal candidate, thanks to his impressive physical tools that give him tons of upside. He still needs some refinement, which will require patience at the next level, but investing a Day 3 pick into his lofty potential wouldn’t be the worst idea for the Bucs.

Mayfield will be the starter for at least the next couple of years, but if Tampa Bay wants a long-term backup plan beyond Trask and Wolford, Milton could be a strong fit.

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Is Kyle Trask the Bucs’ backup plan if they can’t re-sign Baker Mayfield?

If the Bucs can’t bring back Baker Mayfield, they might have to gamble on a the former second-round pick

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are running out of time to re-sign quarterback Baker Mayfield before he hits free agency Monday, and if they lose him to another team, they’ll be forced back to the drawing board at the game’s most important position.

Mayfield enjoyed the best season of his career last year after signing a one-year deal with the Bucs in free agency last offseason, but now he’s earned a much bigger pay day, and one Tampa Bay might not be able to afford.

If they’re not able to keep him, the Bucs might have to resort to the man Mayfield beat out during training camp and the preseason for the starting job last year.

Kyle Trask is heading into the final year of his rookie contract, and despite being a second-round pick back in 2021, he’s barely sniffed the field for any regular-season action over his three seasons with the team. He was inactive on game day as the third-stringer behind Tom Brady and Blaine Gabbert for two seasons, then Mayfield’s backup last year.

A Heisman Trophy finalist for the Gators, Trask has flashed some potential during preseason action, but hasn’t been able to earn any meaningful snaps up to this point. That said, Bucs general manager Jason Licht said earlier this week that Trask remains one of their options if Mayfield heads elsewhere in free agency:

There are some other veterans expected to be available on the open market this week, but Mayfield could make a strong case to be the best of them. Trading for Justin Fields is also a possibility, but if the Bucs want to go the cheap route, they could let Trask start this season and see what he’s really got before his rookie contract expires.

That would be a massive gamble on their part, but one that could pay off should he live up to the expectations that came with his draft slot.

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Worst draft pick of Jason Licht’s tenure as Bucs’ GM?

It’s hard to beat trading up for a one-year kicker in the second round, but this pick might actually have been worse for the Bucs

It’s hard to beat trading up for a kicker in the second round, especially a kicker who got cut after just one season.

But is there actually a worse pick from Jason Licht’s tenure as the general manager of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers than Roberto Aguayo?

It’s possible, according to Jay Recher of WDAE, who thinks that spending a second-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft on quarterback Kyle Trask was one of the worst moves from an otherwise sterling performance from Licht during his time calling the personnel shots in Tampa Bay.

It’s hard to argue with Recher, given the context of where the Bucs were as a franchise when they made the pick:

The Bucs set a franchise record in 2021 with 13 regular-season wins, but fell short of a repeat Super Bowl bid with a crushing home loss to the eventual-champion Los Angeles Rams.

That ending to the 2021 season was even harder to stomach when you consider that instead of spending that second-round pick on a potential impact player at any number of positions where the Bucs could have used more, they used it on a quarterback who held a clipboard all season and was never even active for a single game.

Again, it’s hard to be a one-year kicker after trading up in the second round, but considering what could have been had the Bucs a valuable player instead of Trask, that pick might actually take the cake.

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Three Gators ranked among top-80 college QBs of 2000s

The Florida Gators have seen rostered a few elite quarterbacks over the past two and a half decades, and three made ESPN’s top-80 list.

The University of Florida has been home to many great signal callers, and three former Gators were named on ESPN’s top-80 quarterbacks of the 2000s list on Tuesday.

The list features [autotag]Kyle Trask[/autotag] at No. 52, [autotag]Rex Grossman[/autotag] at No. 34 and, of course, [autotag]Tim Tebow[/autotag] at No. 4. Some might include Cam Newton since he is a former Gator, but he checks in at No. 2 for what he did at Auburn, not in Gainesville.

“In 2006, Tebow served as short-yardage back and scary red zone passing option as Florida won the national title. In 2007, he posted 4,181 combined rushing and passing yards and won the Heisman,” ESPN staff writer Bill Connelly said.

“In 2008, he gave an immortal speech and led the Gators to a 13-1 record and second title. In 2009, he led the Gators to another 13-1 record, posted 3,805 rushing and passing yards and finished in the Heisman top five for a third straight year.

“It’s almost impossible to put together a career more complete than that.”

Trask is the most recent Gator to crack the list. He made it to Gainesville as a two-star backup and delivered over 7,000 passing yards across 22 games after taking over the starting spot.

Grossman could have been higher on this list, but he lost the 2001 Heisman vote by 62 points and lost the BCS national championship game by two points. So close.

For those wondering, Oklahoma‘s Baker Mayfield finished at No. 1 on the list. Vince Young (Texas) finished third, ahead of Tebow.

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What went right, what went wrong for the Bucs in 2023

It was a mixed bag for Tampa Bay in their 9-8 season — see what the Bucs did well and what they can improve on going into 2024.

Very few anticipated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to reach the heights they did during the 2023 NFL season. When QB Tom Brady announced his second retirement after the Bucs’ loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the 2022 Wild Card round, it triggered a complete reset of the offense. Trying to return back to a division-contending level-of-play while also dealing with several personnel changes was a large task to overcome as Tampa Bay looked ahead to the 2023 season.

Despite all odds, the Bucs won the NFC South for the third consecutive season and reached the NFC Divisional round, where it fell 31-23 to the Detroit Lions. There were several things that went right during Tampa Bay’s transition year. However, there was plenty that could’ve been improved upon. Before we get to what went wrong, we’ll highlight some of the good from the Bucs’ 2023 season.

Kyle Trask could start against Carolina Panthers this weekend

Could Kyle Trask get his first NFL start on Sunday? Unlikely but not impossible.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are facing attrition under center. An injury has threatened to sideline the team’s starting quarterback, Baker Mayfield. The recent events may have cleared the path for former Florida football quarterback [autotag]Kyle Trask[/autotag] to get his first career NFL start.

With a little over nine minutes on the clock in the first quarter last week against the Indianapolis Colts, Mayfield ran a QB sneak from the 1-yard line, but he was slow to get up after. He was seen limping off the field following the play.

Trask, who has been in Tampa Bay for the last three seasons and studied under Tom Brady for two, threw an incomplete pass to wide receiver Chris Godwin but the drive still resulted in a field goal. Mayfield then returned to action afterward.

The Bucs ultimately lost the game, 27-20.

“(Mayfield is) pretty sore,” Bowles said during a press conference Monday. “The MRI was negative. He has a sore ankle. We’ll see how he’s feeling during the week, but it came out negative so that’s a good thing.”

It seems unlikely that Trask will get the call on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, but the possibility remains that head coach Todd Bowles will want to give his QB1 a breather against an underwhelming Carolina squad. It is likely a game-day decision.

The Bucs host the Panthers inside Raymond James Stadium on Dec. 3 with a start time of 4:05 p.m. ET. The game will be carried on CBS.

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The top offensive players in Tampa Bay’s loss to Indianapolis, per PFF

PFF had these players as the highest-rated from Sunday’s Bucs action:

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offense continues to struggle.

The Bucs haven’t eclipsed 21 points in a game since their matchup against the Texans on Nov. 5 and have only eclipsed that mark once in seven games, doing it the last time aside from Houston in Week 4 when the team beat the Saints 26-9. Tampa Bay just isn’t quite clicking on that side of the ball, but there were still some moments of hope like there are every Sunday — running back Rachaad White continues to be a weapon in the offense and wideout Mike Evans did Mike Evans things in the 27-20 losing effort.

Pro Football Focus took to grading every Bucs player that took snaps on Sunday, and these 10 players were graded the highest:

Florida losing kicker Adam Mihalek to transfer portal

Florida kicker Adam Mihalek is entering the NCAA transfer portal after three years in Gainesville with the Gators.

After [autotag]Adam Mihalek[/autotag] lost the starting placekicker job to Trey Smack, most figured he’d hit the transfer portal at the end of the season.

Mihalek made that news official on Sunday following Florida’s season-ending loss the day before.

“I am grateful for my tie as a Florida Gator in Gainesville,” Mihalek wrote in an announcement posted to social media. “I want to thank Coach Napier and the entire staff for the opportunity at UF. It was a great experience to kick for the Gators. It has enriched my life in countless ways and I will carry those life lessons with me…

“I have decided to enter the transfer portal and look forward to my next opportunity.”

A former walk-on, Mihalek started all 13 games for Florida in 2022 under first-year head coach Billy Napier. He made 14 of 21 field goals that year, the longest coming from 52 yards out.

Napier put Mihalek on scholarship ahead of the 2023 season but things unraveled pretty quickly. Mihalek missed two kicks and a point after attempt through three games, opening the door for Smack to take over.

Mihalek will have two years of eligibility remaining wherever he lands.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Bucs select Baker Mayfield as their next starting QB to lose to the Saints

The Buccaneers formally named Baker Mayfield their new starting quarterback, picking him as their next QB to lose a game to the Saints:

There’s one more quarterback situation settled. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers named Baker Mayfield their starting quarterback on Tuesday following a surprisingly competitive training camp battle with Kyle Trask — meaning they’re picking Mayfield as the next Buccaneers quarterback to lose a game to the New Orleans Saints.

New Orleans will first host the Bucs in Week 4 this season, with kickoff scheduled for 12 p.m. CT on Sunday, Oct. 1. That’s the same game which star running back Alvin Kamara will return from suspension, which isn’t a great sign for Tampa Bay’s chances of winning.

Mayfield has only played the Saints once before, with his Carolina Panthers frustrating the Jameis Winston-led New Orleans offense in a game where Mayfield went 12-of-25 for just 170 passing yards, losing 22 yards on 3 sacks. He was benched a few weeks later and ended the season on the Los Angeles Rams, who chose to not re-sign him in the spring.

He might be a good pick to help the Buccaneers capsize their pirate ship and make a run at the top overall pick in the 2024 draft, eyeing a young quarterback prospect like Caleb Williams (USC) or Drake Maye (North Carolina). It’s a bold approach, but it’s worth remembering how it didn’t work out for the Bucs when they went all-in on tanking to get Winston. It’s also the same slot Mayfield was drafted himself not too long ago.

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Social Media Reacts: Baker Mayfield named Tampa Bay Buccaneers starting quarterback

After a rocky start to his career, Oklahoma legend Baker Mayfield has found a new home and was named the starting quarterback.

Former [autotag]Oklahoma Sooners[/autotag] legend [autotag]Baker Mayfield[/autotag] found out Tuesday he has won the quarterback job for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Mayfield will be taking the spot of future Hall of Famer Tom Brady, who announced his retirement this offseason.

Head Coach Todd Bowles made the announcement during his press conference. Bowles said Kyle Trask found out he would be the backup but needs to be ready at any point in time to play.

As for Mayfield, Bowles said, “Baker’s our guy. I like where we’re at Baker is one & Kyle is two.” Mayfield has thrown for 16,288 yards, 102 touchdowns and 64 interceptions in his career.

His biggest issue has been consistency which can also be attributed to a number of coaches and offenses he’s had in his career. He started his career with the Cleveland Browns and then spent time between the Carolina Panthers and the Los Angeles Rams a season ago. Baker hopes to have found his home in Tampa.

Mayfield is on a prove-it deal signing a one-year deal worth up to $8.5 million. He has mentioned before he hopes this will be his home for years to come.

Mayfield has shown signs in his career of being a franchise guy. In his rookie year, he set the rookie touchdown passes record with 27. In his third year, he took Cleveland to the postseason and helped the Browns win a playoff game for the first time since 1994.

That season Mayfield completed 62.8% of his passes for 3,563 yards, 26 touchdowns to only eight interceptions. The following season with a lot of hype, Mayfield was injured in the second game of the season and tried to play through it. Following that season, he was traded to the Panthers.

Things weren’t much better with Carolina and he was released during the season, ultimately signing with the Rams. He had some success starting in place of an injured Matthew Stafford. He orchestrated a beautiful two-minute drive, which included a game-winning touchdown pass against the Raiders in his first start.

He performed pretty well with a makeshift offensive line and wide receiver group due to injury. But Mayfield has to be consistent to help what many believe to be one of the worst teams in football. With the Bucs, Mayfield will be throwing to arguably the best group of wide receivers he’s played with since his time in Norman.

As for Oklahoma fans, I’m sure they are just glad not to have to wear any more orange Mayfield jerseys. That is unless it’s the 1970s creamsicle look.