Replacing a future Canton-bound quarterback is a daunting task. And it’s one that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers face this offseason. Tom Brady may not have been the same player he was a year ago. But he helped lead the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl LV victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in his first season. He was still among the game’s most feared passers even as his career reached its twilight. While Brady retired earlier this month, a potential plan has emerged for his eventual successor.
The Buccaneers may not need to look too far to replace Brady. Well at least in 2023. The choice right now is pretty clear as Tampa Bay currently has one quarterback currently under contract: Kyle Trask. In addition to the now-retired Brady, Blaine Gabbert is also scheduled to be a free agent this offseason.
“From my conversations with the organization, [the Buccaneers] do feel like, at least, Kyle Trask is likely to be the guy under center,” ESPN’s Jeff Darlington said earlier this week. “I feel confident that they’re going in that direction. Whether that’s due to some salary cap concerns because they did go all in on Tom Brady the past couple of years, to try to build around him. Now, they do have to pay a little bit of that price.”
The #Bucs will likely go ahead with QB Kyle Trask as their Week 1 starter, per Jeff Darlington
He added that he thinks GM Jason Licht believes that "Kyle Trask is the best QB in the division."https://t.co/QOtjyBHFAA pic.twitter.com/qTkjWdynwF
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 23, 2023
Darlington said that he still feels like Tampa Bay GM Jason Licht is just not gonna lie down. But, at the same time, he believes that Trask has what it takes to be a winner in this league. Said Darlington, “He looks around the division and says, ‘We got the best quarterback in the division at the very least. I’m not saying that means much, but I think he at least thinks they can be competitive with Kyle Trask.”
The former Florida Gators quarterback has made one NFL appearance, completing 3-of-9 passes for 23 yards.
Tampa Bay will almost certainly do its research on quarterbacks that’ll become available this offseason, but all eyes will now be on the Buccaneers this spring to see if this Tom Brady succession plan plays its way out this way.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.