Getty Second-year Buccaneers quarterback Kyle Trask faces a critical stretch for his NFL career.
Second-year Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Kyle Trask‘s defining moment of training camp didn’t last long on social media.
Trask’s interception to cornerback Jamel Dean on August 5 appeared on the Bucs’ Twitter feed that day, but the post disappeared later that day. Trask’s wobbly pass, intended for receiver Jaelon Darden, drew loads of criticism, which continued as others reposted the previously deleted video.
“Now THIS is a wobbly ball,” Erick Crocker of “Locked on NFL Draft” tweeted on August 7 in reaction to Trask’s pass. “Lol Tampa Bay couldn’t delete this fast enough.”
Now THIS is a wobbly ball. Lol Tampa Bay couldn’t delete this fast enough.
The moment encapsulated Trask’s ongoing struggles at Bucs training camp. He threw multiple interceptions in three practices between August 3 and August 7.
Trask still had solid moments despite the struggles, according to Joey Knight of the Tampa Bay Times. Bucs head coach Todd Bowles expressed confidence in Trask after the first week of camp.
“He’s confident in where he’s going. He’s understanding things,” Bowles said on August 3. “We’re putting him in a lot of situations where he’s getting some experience. That’s all we can ask for right now.”
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Trask’s Development a Concern
Tampa Bay selected Trask in the second round of the 2021 draft with the idea that he could possibly succeed Tom Brady.
Former head coach Bruce Arians raved about Trask early on last year. Arians also considered Trask a legitimate candidate for the starting job amid Brady’s 41-day retirement.
Bucs quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen voiced a much different sentiment about Trask in May, a couple of months after Brady unretired. Christensen said Trask wouldn’t be in the running for the backup job after the Bucs notably re-signed free agent backups Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Griffin in the spring. Instead, Christensen said he hoped Trask keeps learning from Brady.
“It buys him another year to develop and watch one of the best in the business do his deal,” Christensen said of Trask on May 10. “It’s kind of like a redshirt year. It is a challenge to keep concentrating for that long, but I really do think it’s the best thing that could have happened to him. It sometimes doesn’t feel like it necessarily at the time, but he would tell you he needs another year.
“Kyle’s always been that kind of slow, steady, developer — in high school, in college — and I think that falls in line with exactly that,” Christensen added. “I think he would put a high value and premium on that, that he’s not the guy who comes in and just becomes the flash immediately. He has a methodical development to him.”
High Snap Count Ahead for Trask
As the Saturday, August 13, preseason opener against Miami looms, Trask could put wobbly passes and a slew of picks behind him amid a slew of in-game opportunities. Pro Football Talk’s Peter King anticipates that Trask will play more than any of the Bucs quarterbacks in the preseason games.
“Tampa wants to see what it has in the second-year second-rounder, and there’s no time like meaningless August games to do so,” King wrote on August 8.
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