Kyle Trask Discusses Tom Brady's Impact On His Development With Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have three players competing for the starting quarterback job after bringing in Baker Mayfield and John Wolford this offseason. Only one of the prospective signal-callers, former second-round pick Kyle Trask, suited up alongside Tom Brady, who stepped away from the game for good earlier this year.
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After sitting behind Brady for the first two years of his career, Trask believes that he's ready to step into a bigger role in 2023. Part of that confidence can be attributed to the players and coaches he's emulated since joining the Buccaneers.
"Tom is just a pro through and through, so that was such a blessing for me to come into a quarterback room filled with him, Blaine [Gabbert] and Ryan [Griffin], and obviously Clyde [Christensen] and Byron [Leftwich]," Trask said following OTAs earlier this week. "They had all the experience in the world, so just to come into that room and just try to soak up as much knowledge while I was in there, that is a priceless experience for me."
While Trask only appeared in one game alongside Brady, the two spent a lot of time around one another on the practice field and in the film room. The former Florida Gators star made it a point to pay close attention to the seven-time Super Bowl Champions routine. He knew this was an opportunity that wouldn't last forever.
"Really encouraging. He always had great answers for any questions I asked him," Trask said. "They all were really good to me, and I tried to soak up as much as I could while he was there because I knew it wasn't going to last forever."
Head coach Todd Bowles appears to have noticed the difference in Trask's approach during the first couple of OTAs. His confidence is increasing as his reps in practice continue to grow. Trask has split first-team snaps with Mayfield so far.
"He's getting the reps. When you get more reps, you get more confidence. Obviously, and rightfully so, with Tom [Brady] there last year and Blaine [Gabbert] there, he didn't get the reps he should get," Bowles said. "He's getting a lot of reps right now. It's really an indoctrination of his rookie year – getting all the reps he's getting. As he gets those reps, he gets more confidence so he's happy to be playing."
Though some have already written him off, Trask is motivated and understands the steps that he needs to follow to have success. An opportunity might be all he needs to find his footing at the professional level.
Trask completed 3/9 passes for 23 yards while coming off the bench in Tampa Bay's loss to Atlanta in the regular-season finale. With that being said, he was one of the top quarterbacks in the country during the 2020 season at Florida. Trask completed 68.9% of his passes for 4,283 yards with 43 touchdowns to eight interceptions while being named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.
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