Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles given a confident assessment of quarterback Kyle Trask.
It comes as a blow to fellow quarterback Baker Mayfield, who was expected to be the man to replace Tom Brady with the Bucs only bringing him in this off-season. Both Trask and Mayfield have been sharing reps in practice as they battle for the starting quarterback job.
Mayfield is expected to be the leading candidate to take the job with plenty of starting experience. But worrying footage of Mayfield missing simple throws has now emerged on two different occasions with the former first-overall draft pick continuing to struggle with his accuracy.
That could mean that Trask has a legitimate shot of winning the job, after being benched behind Brady for two years.
The 25-year-old had been a highly-rated quarterback coming out of Florida, having been selected in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. In his final year in college, he threw for a whopping 43 touchdowns to just eight interceptions.
But in the NFL, he failed to even win the back-up spot, with the Bucs preferring veteran Blaine Gabbert ahead of Trask - with the former Florida Gator throwing just nine times in the league so far.
But with Mayfield seemingly not able to nail down the job as of yet, Bowles has stated that Trask is "getting more confident" as he gave a positive assessment of the third-year player.
He said: "He’s getting the reps. When you get more reps, you get more confidence. Obviously, and rightfully so, with Tom there last year and Blaine there, he didn’t get the reps he should get.
"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."
It was an interesting off-season for the Buccaneers, who had ample opportunity to bring in some star quality quarterbacks after Brady's retirement - being a good landing spot for a pocket passer with an explosive offense around him.
But with the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Lamar Jackson and Derek Carr available, the Bucs signed Mayfield - after he'd been let go from three teams in two years.
Many have suggested that a reason that the Buccaneers chose not to go for a quarterback, might be Caleb Williams' arrival in the league next season - with the team potentially in with a chance of drafting him should they struggle with Mayfield or Trask.
