Former Bucs QB Kyle Trask is getting a look from NFC South foe, and it could be a reunion with a familiar face
The door is cracked open for the former Bucs second-round pick.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ first draft after winning Super Bowl LV was not among Jason Licht’s best, to put it mildly. 2021 first-round pick EDGE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka never materialized into starter material, and the team’s second-round pick, Kyle Trask turned out to be a wasted early pick.
Tryon-Shoyinka ended up retiring this past offseason after spending the 2025 season with the Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears, and Trask was sent packing last year after failing to beat out previously-retired Teddy Bridgewater in the preseason.
But all is not (yet) lost for Trask, as he’s apparently getting one more shot at sticking with an NFL roster for 2026. And it could come with a team and coach that Tampa Bay is very familiar with.
According to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, Trask is working out for the Carolina Panthers.
Former Bucs QB Kyle Trask working out for the Carolina Panthers
Carolina bringing in Trask for a closer look is logical on a number of fronts. The Panthers saw backup QB Will Grier retire this offseason, and even though general manager Dan Morgan said they wouldn’t look to bring anyone else in, it appears they’re at least examining their options here.
Trask also is familiar with a couple of key people inside the building in Charlotte. He played for head coach Dave Canales in 2023, when the latter was the Bucs’ offensive coordinator. Canales was also quarterbacks coach of the Seattle Seahawks before that and helped revive Geno Smith’s career. Panthers WR coach Brad Idzik was also in Tampa with Trask as the Bucs’ receivers coach in 2023.
We’ll see how things shake out with Trask this week and the Panthers, as he also got a tryout with the Saints during the offseason, and that didn’t stick. But for now, the Bucs’ former second round pick has a chance, and that’s all he can ask for at this point.