Kyle Trask needs second-team reps

Second-round pick Kyle Trask looked pretty good in his pre-season debut, but make no mistake - he wasn’t getting a lot of help. One of the receivers he was targeting - Josh Pearson - was waived the day after their loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Now, with the starters sitting out against the Titans, it’s time for Kyle Trask to get some work with the second team offense.

The argument is simple; the Buccaneers know what they have in Blaine Gabbert. The Buccaneers know what they have in Ryan Griffin. What they don’t know is how their potential quarterback of the future can perform with players around him that will still be on the roster come September.

Having Trask on the field with players like Tyler Johnson, Scotty Miller, Jalen Darden, and Ke’Shawn Vaughn - goin up against a defense of rotational players and backups - will give a better barometer as to where Trask is at the NFL level right now. If he truly is going to be the quarterback after Tom Brady, he needs to face formidable competition with competent players around him. I spoke about this very thing earlier this week on the Locked On Bucs Podcast.

Trask showed some flashy deep passes, but was under duress much of his time on the field last week against Cincinnati. He had special teams contributors as pass catching options. He had an offensive line of guys that won’t make much more than the practice squad. None of these add up to a player that had a legitimate opportunity to display his talents, abilities, or his comprehension of the NFL game thus far.

Blaine Gabbert will likely get the start tonight against Tennessee, but if I’m Bruce Arians I’m going to have Gabbert out there for one or two series before swapping him out for Trask. Let Trask play with the second team receivers against a second team defense, then put in Griffin to finish out the game.

That strategy, at the very least, is the next step in the evaluation process for the rookie quarterback.