New Buccaneers quarterback Kyle Trask has plenty of room to grow, and is in the right situation to do it

Since Kyle Trask was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Saturday night at the 2021 NFL Draft there have been a lot of people voicing their opinion the former Florida Gators leader isn’t ready to start in professional football. They’re right, which is why he’s with this franchise in the first place.

Tom Brady has overcome the ‘over the hill’, ‘losing his arm’, ‘bound to get injured’ conversations up to this point. Heading into 2021, the Buccaneers are betting on the legend to do it again, because those comments are surely on the horizon once again.

And make no mistake, sooner or later Brady will have to leave the NFL and move into his next career as a supermodel’s spouse, father, and businessman. When the day comes, the Buccaneers will be faced with a question the New England Patriots are finding really hard to answer: Who’s next?

It won’t be Cam Newton, and apparently, it won’t be Mac Jones, but it might be Kyle Trask. It also might not be Trask, and hell, it could be Jones. It’s certainly less likely to be Newton than any of those three.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

The best part is, it won’t be until at least 2022 and hopefully not 2023 when Tampa Bay has to answer the same question Bill Belichick is hoping he got right.

So no, Trask is not ready to replace Brady. He’s not ready to replace any starting quarterback, in fact. This is clearly evident by the fact all thirty-two NFL teams passed on him at least once or didn’t make the necessary trade to move into the 63rd overall pick to take him before Jason Licht did.

And yes, he has things to clean up. Speaking with Locked On Gators host Brandon Olsen, he told me, “I’ll say that he doesn’t have a cannon by any stretch...but he’s still capable (and) that’s what we’re looking at here, that he’ll be a solid quarterback option here. I’m fully confident and being able to develop. Right now, he’s probably not going to do a ton but if he has to step in and mop-up duty or just a spot start, I could see it happen. I’m confident that he’s going to develop a bit and he’s capable of not tanking a team right now.”

There are a lot of words to pay attention to here. Words like ‘solid’ and ‘develop’. These are the keys.

Kyle Trask enters the NFL as a solid prospect with room to develop. Better yet, he’s with a team that can afford to let him develop without rushing him to failure. Not just because of Tom Brady, but because the team is also expected to bring back Blaine Gabbert.

So, not only is Trask going to have the benefit of Brady, Bruce Arians, Byron Leftwich, and Clyde Christensen, he’s should also have the wisdom of Gabbert to pull from as well.

Bottom line is, no quarterback in the 2021 NFL Draft is ready to replace the greatest quarterback of all time. I don’t know it would be fair to ask a rookie to do so, anyway. Even coming into the second year, it just doesn’t feel like Mac Jones can even stack up against the expectations awaiting him as a quarterback wearing a Patriots logo.

What if Jones had two years though. To grow, develop, and learn behind the person he’s supposed to replace? Would his chances be better? I think so. Unlike most of us, Trask has time on his side, and every mentor a young quarterback with limited physical attributes could ask for.

So let’s not expect 2021 Trask to be ready to take the reigns in 2023. Instead, let's appreciate the fact the best quarterback the Buccaneers could reasonably get for the possibility of doing the job in two years, is now in the building.

Catch more of what Brandon Olsen had to say about Kyle Trask and the Florida Gators the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will see in 2021, only on the Locked On Bucs Podcast!