Kyle Trask showed the Bucs that he deserves to be Baker Mayfield’s backup over Teddy Bridgewater but there’s still a ways to go
The fifth-year veteran made a strong statement against the Titans on Saturday night.
Well, to be 100% transparent: It took Kyle Trask less than 48 hours to prove me wrong and show that he has every right to be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ backup quarterback in 2025.
I went ahead and said in my latest 53-man roster projection that Trask would lose the QB2 battle to the recently-signed Teddy Bridgewater and while that’s a feasible projection – it looks absolutely awful after the fifth-year veteran played his best football, ever, as an NFL player in the first half of the Bucs’ preseason matchup against the Tennessee Titans.
Trask looked very good, completing 12-of-16 passes for 129 yards in the first 30 minutes of play. He didn’t throw a touchdown, but he also committed zero turnovers. He also led the Bucs offense to 13 points on four drives – the unit scored on three of its four first-half possessions.
It’s not just about stats, though. Trask showed an excellent command of the offense and he looked confident and decisive with his passes. He even got the Titans defense to jump offsides on a 4th and 1 – more evidence that he’s finding solid ground in Josh Grizzard’s offense.
“I thought he played very well,” Todd Bowles told reporters after the game. “You know, he was 12-of-16 [and] he made some timely throws down the field to Emeka [Egbuka]. He made one to ‘J-Mac’ [Jalen McMillan] and he made another one. So, he did a very good job controlling the offense. He was poised in the pocket.
“As far as being a gamer, [I] need more evidence, but he’s off to a good start this preseason. And you know, practice wasn’t as sharp the last week, but he came in the game, and he played well.”
That was further evidenced by the fact the Bucs converted 50% of their third down attempts with Trask in the game. Three of those five conversions were Trask completions on downs-and-distances of 3rd and 9, 3rd and 7, and 3rd and 6. The former Florida Gator connected with his targets past the sticks on two of the three plays and helped the Bucs offense compile a six-point lead in the first half.
Everyone talks about the fact the Bucs promoted Grizzard to help maintain a sense of consistency for Baker Mayfield, but Trask has also been through three different offensive coordinators over the last three years. This is the first time he’s been in the same system since the 2021-2022 seasons and it looks like it’s paid off in a big way during the first half of the Bucs’ first preseason game.
“I think that’s just [my] confidence within the system,” Trask told reporters when asked about his comfort level on Saturday night. “Being around ‘Grizz’, you know, another year, obviously, [he] was with us last year. [So it’s a] similar scheme [and] there’s some turnover there, but yeah, I feel really confident with this playbook.”
There’s still a long way to go, though, when it comes to the big picture. The Bucs didn’t sign Teddy Bridgewater for him to just hang out on the sidelines and while Trask looked really good, he’s gotta show consistency and that only comes with more game reps. We’ll see if he can keep this up when the Bucs take on the Pittsburgh Steelers next week.