Bucs are wild for Kyle Trask at quarterback (for now)

INDIANAPOLIS — Here’s a question the Bucs can’t answer: Is Kyle Trask the right player to replace Tom Brady or just the quarterback for right now?

At the NFL scouting combine Tuesday, general manager Jason Licht and head coach Todd Bowles spent the better part of an hour selling the former Florida Gators star as the heir apparent while acknowledging they will be adding competition at the position at bargain prices.

Tampa Bay is at least $56 million over the $224.8 million salary cap and has begun whittling away at that figure with plans to release some veterans, such as running back Leonard Fournette.

But even while making it clear they plan to add several quarterbacks to the mix ― perhaps even through the draft — the focus Tuesday was on what they believe they have in Trask, their second-round pick in 2021.

“We’re very excited about Kyle,” Licht said. “Very excited about him getting an opportunity to be the starter. Would be very comfortable with that. ... You know, he was a successful quarterback in the SEC. I mean, wildly successful. We took him in the second round for a reason. ... Now, it has yet to be seen what he turns out to be (in the NFL), but we’re confident that it’s going to be very good.”

At the same time, Bowles wasn’t ready to declare Trask the starter for opening day. While the Bucs made it clear they won’t be competing for high-priced free agent quarterbacks such as the Raiders’ Darek Carr, who met with the Panthers and Saints Tuesday in Indianapolis, they want Trask to be pushed.

“I didn’t say he can be No. 1 yet, I said he can compete,” Bowles said. “I see the work ethic. I see the toughness. I see the willingness to get better every day. It’s hard to get reps when you have a guy like Tom Brady in front of you that’s playing all the time, so he’ll have an opportunity to compete to become No. 1 ... and that’s all you can ask for in this league.”

Trask was active for only two regular-season games in two seasons since joining the Bucs, playing in the 2022 regular-season finale at Atlanta.

He was 3-of-9 passing for 23 yards in a mop-role during a 30-17 loss to the Falcons. Over two preseasons, he has completed 58.4 percent of his passes for 779 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions.

“He can throw the ball very well,” Licht said. “He’s changed his body a little bit with just being in the NFL with our strength and conditioning staff to where he looks more athletic to me than he did in college. He can get out of trouble in the pocket. He’s accurate, he’s smart, he works hard, and he’s got all the traits that you’re looking for in a quarterback.

“You have to give everybody competition. ... I’m just saying if he were the starter or if he was the only option that we had right now we’d be very, very excited about going forward with him, and he’s going to get the opportunity to, no matter who we bring in, to be the starter.”

Licht said he believes Trask has benefitted from watching Brady work. It’s not only how he prepares his body, but also his dedication to the mental grind of the position.

“(Brady) is probably one of the more dedicated, focused athletes I’ve ever been around,” Licht said. “Not probably, he is. And for these guys to see what it takes for him to get to that level is, I mean, extremely valuable thing to live on for a long time in our organization.

“I think Kyle has been around him every day here for the past two years, and I think it’s rubbed off on him. I mean, Kyle right now is one of the players that’s working out by himself.”

The Bucs are more likely to add veteran free agents who have started in the league but won’t be demanding starting quarterback money. The list could include Baker Mayfield, Jacoby Brissett, Drew Lock and Sam Darnold. In fact, Bowles said even Blaine Gabbert, the Bucs’ No. 2 quarterback the past two seasons, still is in the mix.

“He’s not out of the picture,” Bowles said. “I mean, we have a bunch of free agents we’ve got to try and deal with. We’ll see the pecking order as we go through it, but I think very highly of Blaine.”

Rather than be quarterback-driven as they were with Brady under center, Bowles said the Bucs will have to win more as a team moving forward.

“When you play team football, the less the quarterback has to do,” Bowles said. “And we have to become a better complete team and play team football and not put everything on the quarterback. You don’t have such a polarizing figure in the building.

“And you know, Tom probably won some games off of fear from the other team when he stepped in there. You know, you don’t win those games off of fear anymore. It’s going to take everybody, and it’ll be all inclusive. But it’s not like we didn’t have good players to go along with him.”

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