Is quarterback on Tampa Bay’s offseason wishlist?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Kyle Trask in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Trask, a holdover from the Tom Brady era, has been with the team the last four seasons. In the early years of his tenure with the team, he served as the team’s third-string passer— In recent seasons, he’s acted as Tampa’s primary backup.
Across his four campaigns, Trasked has barely stepped into regular season action. He has attempted a mere 11 passes, completing just 4. Those four completions netted 28 yards— Not the most impressive results for the 64th pick of the draft.
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Unfortunately for Trask, he hasn’t really had many opportunities to prove his worth. With very limited playing time, a lot of Trask’s evaluation has to come from his preseason performances.
Throughout his career, Trask has shown growth during the team’s August games. As a rookie, Trask struggled— 1 TD, 2 INT, and a 57 percent completion percentage. In year two, though his touchdowns and interceptions remained the same, his completion percentage jumped up to 62.
Kyle Trask’s third season was his best opportunity to earn a right to play meaningful professional games. Tom Brady walked away from the NFL, leaving Trask an opportunity to earn a starting spot. Pitted against newcomer Baker Mayfield, Trask did put his best foot forward— to that point. While Baker Mayfield did go on to win the job, Trask’s preseason performance was impressive. Two touchdowns, just one interception, a second consecutive uptick in completion percentage (65%), and a third consecutive year of an increased QBR— Not good enough to win starting spot, but not bad either.
This past preseason, Trask once again came in as the established backup— Even without room to advance in the organization, he continued his trend of improvement. In 2024, he posted his best touchdown to interception ratio (3:1) and his best overall QBR for a preseason thus far. Trask’s 91.6 quarterback rating in 2024 represents his fourth increase in four years (2021-60.6, 2022-76.5, 2023-90.8, 2024-91.6).
This offseason, Trask will be a free agent. 2025 will be the first time the Buccaneers and Kyle Trask will have an opportunity to negotiate a contract with the quarterback on the open the market.
Jason Licht and co. will have to make a decision. They could make a push to retain their former second rounder, or they could investigate other options. An early-round draft selection is beyond unlikely, however, is a mid-late draft pick being spent on a backup a possibility? Would Licht feel more comfortable spending some additional cap space to get a veteran backup?
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Prior to the off-putting shock of losing Liam Coen, all indications were the 2025 season would be slated as an all-in year for the Tampa Bay Bucs. A decrease in dead cap space, an offense that ranks near the top of the NFL, a clear-cut franchise quarterback, young players who have shown they have talent mixed with older players who are still at the tail-end of their primes, and a team that looks to be a few key additions (in areas that were crying out for help a season ago) away from competing with the league’s best.
Setting aside the gaping hole at offensive play caller and the few obvious aforementioned needs, is the best bet for a team in an all-in style of season to have an unproven player as their number two at the most important position on the field?
For reference, all of the teams who participated in Championship games this past Sunday suited up veteran backups at the quarterback position. Kyle Trask entered the entirety of the postseason as one of the least experienced backups (in terms of live reps taken) on any playoff roster.
Trask will now be a free agent and his return may come cheap, however, will names like Andy Dalton or Jimmy Garoppolo be bantered about in Jason Licht’s office?
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