Buccaneers GM shares bold Baker Mayfield, Kyle Trask take

Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht insists 2021 second-round draft pick Kyle Trask made things difficult this summer for free-agency signing Baker Mayfield regarding a quarterback competition that Mayfield officially won before preseason play ended. 

"...It was close," Licht said Thursday about the quarterback battle, per the Buccaneers' website. "It was awesome to see Kyle take the steps that he did to make it as close as it was. Because of that, it made Baker better. And Baker – we talk a lot about Kyle and how great he was, but Baker was obviously better, or we wouldn't have chosen him to be the starter, collectively."

Licht said as far back as March that Mayfield would "come in and compete for the starting job" with Trask, but it was widely believed throughout the process that the first pick of the 2018 NFL Draft was always the favorite to emerge as the club's starter.

It was then reported even before the Buccaneers opened the preseason against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Aug. 11 that Mayfield would start the Week 1 game at the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 10. 

That story was accurate. 

"I think it's something that is going to continue throughout the season to push Baker and push Kyle, as well," Licht added about the team's quarterback room. "It was everything I hoped it would be, really, to be honest with you, the competition. It was fun to go out there every day and just see, 'OK, what's going to happen today?' It made us better in the end. I think Baker is in a great headspace right now, so I'm excited to see how this turns out."

The Buccaneers play at the division-rival New Orleans Saints for a Week 4 clash on Oct. 1 and then enter their bye week. 

If Mayfield struggles over the campaign's first four games, Trask theoretically could spend the break preparing to start the Week 6 home matchup versus the Detroit Lions on Oct. 15.