Bad fit with Bucs.
So Kyle Trask is no more. Once a hopeful future franchise quarterback, Trask now joins the list of so many signal-callers thought to be Bucs saviors who never panned out for whatever reason.
That list includes both the successful in their post-Bucs career (Steve Young, Doug Williams) and the trash (Trent Dilfer, Josh Freeman).
If you think about it, Trask was in a no-win situation. He was drafted by the Bucs when Tom Brady was here. He finished with the Bucs with Baker Mayfield here.
Virtually no chance to develop.
Of course, Trask didn’t help himself out that much. His first two years, Trask struggled in practices. Joe was at every one of Trask’s practices his first two seasons. There was Brady at one level, there was Blaine Gabbert at the second level and then there was Trask, clearly two steps behind Gabbert.
In Todd Bowles’ first season as head coach, 2022, Brady went on an 11-day sabbatical in the middle of training camp. Of course, Gabbert got bumped up to the first team in Brady’s absence. Trask got moved up to the second team.
OK, great. Let’s see Trask take the bull by the horns.
In the first practice after Brady left, in the Glazer Shed, Trask fully melted down. It was brutal. It was painful to watch. Here, Trask had his first chance to demonstrate he could handle a promotion and Joe honestly thought Trask might get cut it was so bad, throwing picks into coverage left and right. Incompletions aplenty.
Joe vividly remembers seeing Bucs’ defensive linemen coming across the line that day after plays (picks or incompletions) and offering Trask support and patting him on the back to try to boost his morale.
Joe brings that up because the Bucs’ defensive coordinator saw all of this unfold against his defense, second-stringers. That same coach was also the head coach: Todd Bowles.
Joe believes the memory of that practice was fully seared into Bowles’ cranium. That whatever faith Bowles may have had in Trask was flushed down the toilet for good that day.
The following winter after Brady retired for good, Bowles hounded Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht to sign Mayfield. No other team was willing to give Mayfield a chance to start.
As it turned out, that move was brilliant. The Bucs got a top-10 quarterback for peanuts.
To this day, Bucs types swear there was an honest competition between Mayfield and Trask to start at quarterback. Reality sings a different song.
There was a reason why Bowles wanted Mayfield so badly. Bowles, after an 8-9 record with Tom Brady, saw his Bucs team wiped out in the first round of the playoffs to end the 2023 season.
Bowles was on the hot seat. Fans wanted blood. Bowles had already gone on record that Tampa was to be the last stop of his football career, whenever that end came.
There was simply no way Bowles was going to trust his career with a former third-string quarterback who had but nine pass attempts (at the time) to his name and who had a full-blown meltdown when he was handed the reins of the Bucs’ second-string offense.
Anyone who thinks Bowles was perfectly fine to ride or die with Trask in 2023 simply is not dealing with reality.
The only way Trask was going to win that job was if Trask was so damn good, there was no way Bowles could pull him off the field.
Trask wasn’t that good that summer. At least, not good enough. Mayfield got the job, as was expected.
In the last game of the 2023 season, the Bucs needed to win at Carolina to wrap up the NFC South title and secure a playoff berth. Mayfield got hurt the previous week against New Orleans. He really shouldn’t have been on the field that day in Charlotte.
Mayfield simply couldn’t throw that day. The Bucs eked out a hard-fought win (with a critical strip/sack from of all people Joe Tryon-Shoyinka!), sort of the same way the Bucs won the NFC Central in 2002 when Brad Johnson was hurt: The defense rose up to carry the day.
One could argue Trask should have played. Joe is convinced Trask did not play because Bowles did not trust him.
Remember, Bowles and his defense went up against Trask every day in practice for four seasons and five training camps. If Bowles trusted Trask, even a little bit, he’d probably still be on the Bucs’ roster.
Unfortunately, Trask didn’t help himself much. He plateaued in training camp in 2023. He is the same quarterback now as he was back then: He’d have two good practices, maybe, and then take a step back. He couldn’t string together three straight good practices. Consistently inconsistent.
Trask had a really good practice last Thursday and played well in the final worthless preseason game on Saturday night. But the decision was clearly made.
Licht told the WFLA-TV Channel 8 viewing audience Saturday night that the whole body of work for the quarterbacks in practices would weigh heavier than the play in worthless preseason games when it came to quarterback evaluation. That was basically the kiss of death for Trask and his Bucs days.
Trask seemed like a helluva guy. Every time Joe spoke with him he was as nice as could be. He apparently commanded the huddle well as Tez Johnson told Buccaneers.com that Trask told him before Johnson caught his touchdown Saturday, “Don’t mess this up!” That Trask was going to him on the play.
Joe has even seen Trask bark at his teammates in the huddle after less-than-stellar work.
No, as it turned out, the Bucs simply were not a good fit for Trask for several reasons, including Brady, Mayfield and a coach who needed wins.
Perhaps a change of scenery will allow Trask to bounce back and finally get to be an NFL starting quarterback.
Kyle Trask's time in Tampa Bay is over.
His impact on the field was negligible, but his story is noteworthy.
For a guy known more for his arm than his legs, it's impressive how he continues to march uphill on his football journey.
(Note: Meant *QB2* Blaine Gabbert at end.… pic.twitter.com/ZeGAP8zAIi
— Evan Closky (@ECloskyWTSP) August 26, 2025