TAMPA, Fla. — Kyle Trask has always been told to hurry up and wait. Accelerate your learning curve as fast as possible, but be patient because it’s not your turn to play quarterback.
He did it at Manvel High School in Texas, where he was the backup to D’Eriq King. It took an injury to Feleipe Franks for Trask to finally claim the starting job with the Florida Gators.
When the Bucs drafted him with the final pick in the second round a year ago, Trask was told to prepare for a redshirt NFL season behind Tom Brady, Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Griffin.
Any color shirt would have been progress for Trask, who didn’t dress for any of the Bucs’ 17 regular-season or two postseason games.
Well, Brady is retired and Gabbert is a free agent who most likely will re-sign with the Bucs.
But rather than be caught in the middle hoping the 32-year-old Gabbert catches fire, the Bucs may be better off turning the job over to Trask.
“I definitely think he’s got a chance,” general manager Jason Licht said. “He’s shown all the signs. It’s pointing that way with his intelligence, his ability to pick up the offense, his work ethic. The way he absorbs information. The way he retains information. And the way he throws the ball.
“And he’s changed his body a little bit. He’s surprisingly athletic out there. More so than he was coming off his senior year at Florida.”
Of course, it’s a complete guess how prepared Trask would be to lead a Bucs team that believes it has enough talent to defend its NFC South title.
Not only did he fail to play in a game as a rookie, Trask rarely got any reps in practice. On the few days that Brady didn’t practice in order to rest and recover, Trask may have gotten to run the scout team offense.
“It will be open competition, because Kyle is going to get a great, great shot,” coach Bruce Arians said. “I mean, he’s earned his shot. I really am impressed with the way he improved the things he needed, from running the scout team, presence in the pocket, movement in the pocket. All those little things on and off the field that Tom taught him.”
Trask didn’t waste his time. He worked on his body, dropping some weight and working on not having heavy feet in the pocket. He did passing drills a half hour or so before every practice and worked on his fundamentals and ball placement with quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen and other staff members.
“Leaning out, getting a little quicker,” Arians said. “I mean, he can throw it. It’s a matter of, does he turn it over? Or Blaine, does he turn it over? We’ll get a great opportunity for all those guys, whoever is there, in those preseason games, and that’s hard. That’s where I’d like to have four preseason games instead of three.”
Unless the Bucs somehow make a trade for a more established starter such as Russell Wilson or Deshaun Watson, they could find themselves in the worst position at quarterback.
They would be caught right in the middle.
Instead of going with a young, developing draft pick or a proven veteran winner, they would have a middle-aged journeyman at quarterback with no track record of winning.
The result could be winning six or seven games, missing the playoffs and not drafting high enough in 2023 to select one of the premier college quarterbacks.
The Bucs believe Trask is better than any of the quarterbacks in this year’s draft, a list that includes Liberty’s Malik Willis, Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett, Ole Miss’ Matt Corral and Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder.
If that’s true, especially after a season in the NFL learning his craft next to the greatest quarterback of all time, Trask may be the best choice to start 2022.
He will have to earn it, to be sure. The Bucs will bring four quarterbacks to camp.
“We addressed (quarterback) last year,” Arians said. “We drafted Kyle Trask for a reason. He fits everything we want to do (at the) quarterback (position). I really, really liked what I saw for a year, so I doubt drafting is an option.”
It’s easy to forget how good Trask was during his final year with the Florida Gators. He passed for 4,283 yards, the second-most in the nation, and 43 touchdowns, which led the FBS.
He went head-to-head with Alabama’s Mac Jones in the 2020 SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. Trask completed 26 of 40 passes for 408 yards with three touchdowns and rushed for another score.
The Crimson Tide won the game and Jones went 15th overall to the New England Patriots. Jones’ numbers during his final college season were very similar, passing for 4,500 yards with 41 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Jones has a stronger arm, but both he and Trask are pocket passers. Jones won the starting job as a rookie over Cam Newton. He started the season 2-4 but then won seven games in a row, including 14-10 over the Bills in early December, before the Patriots dropped three of their final four regular-season games.
Jones finished the season with 3,801 passing yards, 22 touchdowns, and a 67.6 completion percentage, which were the highest among rookie quarterbacks in 2021. He wasn’t perfect, throwing 13 interceptions. He was the only rookie quarterback to lead his team to a winning record and playoff appearance, but the Patriots lost their wild-card game to the Bills, 47-17.
Trask’s ceiling may be Jones. The bigger question is, where is his floor? There’s no way to know that unless he’s given a legitimate chance to win the starting job in 2022.
Trask must prove it’s not too big for him. But the only way to know that is to give him the best chance to win the job in training camp. If he isn’t the answer, the Bucs have Gabbert and another veteran or two to fall back on.
If he can at least duplicate what Jones did for the Patriots last season, well, then the Bucs already have their quarterback of the future.
