Baker Mayfield appears to have a lot of influence in contract negotiations with the Bucs, and believe it or not, backup quarterback Kyle Trask could be the best backup plan if the Bucs leave. There is sex.
Mayfield may be the best quarterback in a very shallow free agent market. And with the team picking No. 26 in the first round, Tampa Bay could end up with four or five quarterbacks selected by the Bucs before the game begins. Tampa Bay already has a 2021 second-round pick and invested in Trask, who enters his contract year with little experience.
Bucs general manager Jason Richt has indicated that Trask could be the next choice to replace Mayfield if the team is unable to reach an agreement with a starting quarterback and Mayfield leaves in free agency. .
“You always have to do that. [former Bucs head coach] Blues [Arians] I would say look behind the doors at number 2 and 3, number 4 and 5,” Licht said. “Well, we always feel like we need options. Door number two right here.”
If Trask is Door No. 2, Door No. 3 could compete with him as a free agent quarterback if Mayfield doesn’t re-sign.

Bucs QB Kyle Trask – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR
Outside of Mayfield, Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins, who turns 36 this year, is the only viable option in free agency. He is injured with a ruptured Achilles tendon. But I hear his 1-4 postseason record and high price tag are off-putting, and the Bucks won’t be interested.
Russell Wilson, 35, was just released by Denver and was once a bright star who is rapidly fading in the NFL as his skills decline. Behind Wilson will be the often-injured Ryan Tannehill, 35, and NFL journeymen Gardner Minshew, Jacoby Brissett, Tyrod Taylor and Sam Darnold.
The Bucks still feel good about re-signing Mayfield, whether it happens this weekend before free agency or early next week. But Richt also seems pretty confident that Trask could slot into the starting lineup as “No. 2 in the door.”
Kyle Trask had to bide his time again
Bucs backup quarterback Kyle Trask is used to waiting for his turn, even if it can be frustrating. In high school, Trask was behind D’Eriq King, who was the starting quarterback at Houston and Miami. When he arrived at Florida, Trask had to wait behind Feleipe Franks and eventually got a chance to start in three games his junior year.


Bucs QBs Kyle Trask and Baker Mayfield – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR
When he was drafted by Tampa Bay in 2021, he served as the team’s third-string quarterback for two years behind starter Tom Brady and backup Blaine Gabbert. Last year, he moved up the depth chart but couldn’t move past Baker Mayfield for the starting job.
Trask only appeared in two NFL regular season games, completing 3-of-9 passes for 23 yards in the fourth quarter of a meaningless Week 18 loss to Atlanta in 2022. Ta. Last year he played two games in Indianapolis and was incomplete to Mayfield. He shook off a knee injury in the first quarter.
New Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Cohen had positive things to say about Trask during his first press conference in Tampa Bay in February.
“Actually, Kyle Trask was pretty productive in 2021, the year of COVID-19, and I watched him throw an unbelievable seed to Godwin from the back right of the end zone against the Colts. However, the results were incomplete,” Cohen said. . “But I think he has some accuracy and ability.”


Bucks QB Kyle Trask – Photo courtesy of USA Today
Trask made great strides in development during training camp last year, actually outscoring Mayfield during the first week of practice. In three preseason games last August, Trask completed 65.2 percent of his passes for 509 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Trask threw only one touchdown and two interceptions during the 2021 and 2022 preseasons, his first two preseasons with Tampa Bay, respectively.
If Mayfield doesn’t return, the Bucs will need to draft another quarterback, regardless of whether Trask ever gets a chance to compete for the Bucs’ starting job again. Trask is in a contract year with little to show for it. As Pewter Report previously wrote in an article titled: The Bucks had the right idea in drafting Kyle Trask, Tampa Bay needs to continue drafting quarterbacks to improve depth and competitiveness.
The franchise has yet to draft a quarterback and sign a second contract. This is an incredibly bad statistic considering the Bucs have been around since 1976 and have drafted five quarterbacks in the first round and two, including Trask, in the second round. The Bucs need to keep investing in the quarterback position until they hit.
If Baker Mayfield signs elsewhere, perhaps he can buck that trend if Kyle Trask gets a chance to take over as the starting quarterback.