Bucs' Todd Bowles discusses timeline for naming starting QB

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles is in no hurry to name either veteran Baker Mayfield or 2021 second-round draft pick Kyle Trask as the replacement for retired quarterback Tom Brady. 

"I have a timetable in my head," Bowles told reporters Tuesday about that decision, per the JoeBucsFan website. "It will be preseason. I’m not going to make it in the regular season." 

It was reported last month that the quarterback competition between Mayfield and Trask "could go well into training camp" to give both signal-callers opportunities to impress while facing live opponents in exhibition games. The Buccaneers open the preseason at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Aug. 11. 

"I have a timeline in my head," Bowles continued. "I have my notes down. We’ve talked as an offensive staff and a coaching staff. We understand where we are going. They know where I am at. They know how I feel." 

It's widely believed Mayfield holds an early lead over Trask. Interestingly, Josh Hill of The Pewter Plank pointed out that Bowles did not mention the quarterback competition among the team's "closest position battles" on Tuesday. 

For what it's worth, JoeBucsFan added that Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht indicated the quarterback battle will run "for the first few weeks, at least" of training camp. Tampa Bay plays its second game of the preseason at the New York Jets on Aug. 19. 

Cornerback Carlton Davis raised eyebrows earlier this month when he confidently declared that individuals who think the Buccaneers "lost something" after Brady's latest retirement are "going to be in for a rude awakening" this coming season. Bowles sounded disinterested in such chatter. 

"We write our own narrative. We don’t listen to anything on the outside," Bowles explained, according to JoeBucsFan. "So, it doesn’t bother us because we’re already motivated. You know, we’re a motivated ballclub. [We’re going to write] our own narrative. And that’s what we go by. We don’t go by the national media. It doesn’t bother me. Predictions don’t bother me. It’s how you finish it." 

As of Tuesday afternoon, OddsChecker listed the Buccaneers as the top betting underdogs at +850 odds to win the NFC South title for the upcoming campaign.