The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a training camp battle ensuing between quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask. Mayfield, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, was expected to win the job, but he is making things closer than anticipated.
Baker Mayfield has done nothing to cement his status as the team’s starter in the early going of training camp. In fact, he is allowing Trask back into the race with how poor his performance has been at practice.
“The two practices [prior to today] were not my best by any means,” Mayfield said Thursday, via JoeBucsFan.com. “We looked at it; footwork was a little off. Just being out of rhythm. Just getting back to that, it was a lot better for me today. . . . Today was better than the previous two.”
Mayfield has a vast experience edge over Trask. He has started 69 games in five seasons with 72 appearances. Trask, a second-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Florida, has one appearance and nine pass attempts.
We have seen some very high highs out of Mayfield, who helped lead the Cleveland Browns to a playoff victory during the 2020 season, their first since the 1994 campaign. But, we have also seen some very low lows, such as last season when he was benched and eventually released by the Carolina Panthers.
While he has admittedly struggled, Mayfield is attempting to take the high road. He has found a silver lining in the training camp competition despite some underwhelming performances.
“It’s great for everybody, to be honest with you,” Mayfield said. “When the quarterback room is having success, it shows what this offense can be capable of.”
The pieces are in place for the Buccaneers offense to find some success. Any quarterback would love to have Mike Evans and Chris Godwin as their top two targets in the passing game. Whether it is Mayfield or Trask, the Buccaneers are hoping those two can help whoever is under center for 2023 elevate this offense.
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