Kyle Trask. Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

All-Pro DB endorses Buccaneers QB Kyle Trask

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated Feb 28, 2023 4:56 PM ET

When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced that Kyle Trask would be their starting quarterback in 2023, the decision was met by many with a bit of skepticism.

But after former Bucs head coach Bruce Arians said Tampa was “in good hands” with Trask on “The Rich Eisen Show” recently, New England Patriots defensive back Devin McCourty also publicly announced he was in Trask’s corner.

“Bruce Arians said it, and Bruce Arians has coached Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady, Andrew Luck, [and] Carson Palmer,” McCourty recently said during an appearance on “Good Morning Football,” via Yahoo! Sports. “I mean, if he says Trask is the guy, Trask is the guy.”

Jason Licht says Kyle Trask will have the opportunity to become the starting QB regardless of outside competition brought in. Cites, “Wildly successful in the SEC. We drafted him in the second round for a reason…looks more athletic than he did in college, can get out of trouble”
— Brianna Dix (@briannadixNFL) February 28, 2023

A second-round pick in the 2021 draft, Trask has sat the last two seasons behind Tom Brady, a former teammate of McCourty. He’s attempted just nine career passes for 23 yards.

Trask had a 17-5 record at the University of Florida, passing for 7,386 yards, 69 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He broke Danny Wuerffel’s school record for single-season touchdown passes (43) in 2020 and was named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.

During his introductory news conference, newly hired offensive coordinator Dave Canales stated he plans to simply things for Trask by getting the ball out quickly to receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and relying on the run game.

With Brady’s retirement on Feb. 1 and Blaine Gabbert set to hit free agency, Trask is the only quarterback on Tampa’s roster. The team is $56 million over the salary cap, likely tasking them out of the running for any of the top free agent signal-callers.

Michael Gallagher

Michael Gallagher is a longtime sports journalist based out of Nashville with a decade of experience covering college football, mixed martial arts and prep sports plus the NFL and NHL — specifically the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators. He’s covered several notable sporting events including an AFC Championship game, a Stanley Cup Final, an NHL All-Star Game and an NHL Stadium Series. Some of his past bylines can be found at the Nashville Scene, SB Nation, The Hockey News and Fox Sports Knoxville

More must-reads: