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Bucs' Baker Mayfield, Kyle Trask Split 1st-Team Reps amid QB Battle, Todd Bowles Says

Erin Walsh

Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask are battling to serve as Tampa Bay's starting quarterback in the Buccaneers' first season without star signal-caller Tom Brady in 2023, and it appears each player is being given equal opportunity to win the job.

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles told reporters Tuesday that Mayfield and Trask have split first-team reps in OTAs this spring.

Life without Brady could be pretty tough for the Buccaneers, especially in a more difficult NFC South that will feature Derek Carr and the New Orleans Saints, in addition to 2023 No. 1 pick Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers and Desmond Ridder and the Atlanta Falcons.

That said, there was no easy way for the Buccaneers to replace Brady, who retired after the 2022 campaign, this offseason.

All of the top quarterbacks in the 2023 draft class—Young, C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson—were off the board by the time Tampa Bay was on the clock in the first round with the No. 19 pick, and the franchise didn't have the assets to acquire Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers or the money to sign Carr in free agency after he was released by the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Buccaneers signed Mayfield to a one-year deal worth up to $8.5 million in March, pairing him with Trask, the franchise's 2021 second-round pick.

The Cleveland Browns selected Mayfield first overall in the 2018 draft out of Oklahoma with hopes he would be the franchise's quarterback of the future. Despite leading the Browns to the playoffs for the first time in 18 years during the 2020 season, Mayfield endured a tumultuous four-year tenure in Cleveland that included a feud with Odell Beckham Jr. and a shoulder injury that he played through during the 2021 campaign.

Cleveland traded Mayfield to the Panthers ahead of the 2022 season, and the 28-year-old struggled to live up to expectations in North Carolina. In seven games (six starts), he completed 57.8 percent of his passes for 1,313 yards and six touchdowns against six interceptions.

The Panthers released Mayfield in December and the Los Angeles Rams quickly picked him up after placing veteran Matthew Stafford on injured reserve with a spinal contusion.

Mayfield appeared in L.A.'s final five games of the 2022 season, making four starts. He completed 63.6 percent of his passes for 850 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.

Trask, meanwhile, has appeared in just one NFL game during his career, which came during a Week 18 loss to the Falcons last season. He completed three of nine passes in that contest.

Given Trask's inexperience, Mayfield should have a clear path to the starting job, but considering what little we've seen from OTAs has been unimpressive, the competition appears to be wide open.

   

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