The Tampa Bay Buccaneers decided Kyle Trask, even at a massive bargain, wasn’t good enough to be their backup quarterback in 2025.
In 2026, he could be headed for the same role with their main competition for supremacy in the NFC South Division.
“The Panthers are expected to add former Bucs QB Kyle Trask following Haynes King’s hamstring injury, per a league source,” Panthers reporter Mike Kaye wrote on his official X account on Saturday. “Trask worked under Dave Canales in Tampa Bay in 2023. He also worked out for the team last week. A corresponding move will be needed.”
Trask, 6-foot-5 and 236 pounds, was a 2nd-round pick (No. 64 overall) by the Buccaneers in the 2021 NFL Draft and spent 4 seasons in Tampa Bay as the backup to Tom Brady and Baker Mayfield before his release as part of the final roster cuts in August 2025. He signed with the Atlanta Falcons to be on their practice squad in November.
Trask worked out for Carolina’s coaching staff on July 29.
“Trask gets another shot with his third NFC South team,” Fox Sports NFL reporter Greg Auman wrote on his official X account on Saturday.
The Panthers snapped Tampa Bay’s streak of consecutive NFC South Division titles in 2025 under Canales, a former Buccaneers offensive coordinator.
Bucs Urged to Bring Kyle Trask Back
Whatever flaws the Buccaneers saw in Trask that led to his release before the 2025 season might not seem so pronounced now.
That’s what going 8-9 and missing the playoffs tends to do. It puts things in perspective. In each of Trask’s 4 seasons as a backup on the Buccaneers after he was selected in the 2nd round (No. 65 overall) of the 2021 NFL draft, the team made the playoffs.
In the 1st season without him, they did not. And looked lost on offense most of the way.
In February, Pewter Report’s Matt Matera floated the possibility of the Buccaneers reuniting with Trask after he spent the 2025 season with the Atlanta Falcons, where he played for new Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Zac Robinson.
“Considering the Bucs’ cap situation, they won’t be putting much more into another quarterback than the $1.25 million they gave to Bridgewater,” Matera wrote. “That puts Tampa Bay in the bracket for players like Gardner Minshew, Skylar Thompson or Kyle Allen. However, another route they could go with his bringing back Kyle Trask for another go in training camp to see how he looks with a second trial in Tampa Bay.”
The Buccaneers currently have Jake Browning as their QB2 with Connor Bazelak and undrafted free agent Jalon Daniels battling for the QB3 spot.
Kyle Trask’s Release Shocked Fans in 2025
Trask’s release was perhaps the most shocking personnel move last offseason for the Buccaneers, who seemed to signal their confidence in him after they signed him to a 1-year, $2.78 million contract in March 2025.
Trask, 6-foot-5 and 236 pounds, got a tryout with the Indianapolis Colts before Week 7 before he finally landed a job with the Falcons.
“(Trask’s) new home with the Falcons makes perfect sense,” Heavy.com’s Christopher Sheppard wrote on November 19. “After the season-ending injury to Michael Penix Jr., the Falcons needed some kind of insurance as they only had two rostered QBs in Kirk Cousins and Easton Stick.”
Former Bucs QB Kyle Trask Signs With NFC Playoff Team