After the Tom Brady era, the Bucs' quarterback battle for 2023 will be a battle alright — a battle of pure, unadulterated mediocrity.
The G.O.A.T. has come and gone in Tampa Bay, and in his wake lies not two baby goats, but two hogs rolling around in the mud trying to get the upper trotter.
Tom Brady's second retirement this past February, while expected, dealt a doomsday card for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who didn't exactly have a concrete backup plan in place for such a situation.
2021 second-rounder Kyle Trask got his first snaps last season attempting just nine throws for 23 yards. Starting him under center this year feels less of a playoff-contending move and more of a reckless act of throwing a lamb into the lion's den.
If the Bucs don't want to go down that sink-or-swim route, they added infamous journeyman Baker Mayfield to the quarterback room earlier that season. That'll go well… said absolutely no one at the time.
Mayfield made a mockery of himself in his first press conference when he said he wasn't going to try to be like Tom Brady.
Well, the most recent footage of the Bucs' OTAs were released, and at least Mayfield won't have to worry about that. At all.
Tom Brady's shoes are too big for both Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask
Take a look at Mayfield and Trask tripping over their shoes in what appears to be relatively simple passing drills:
The humiliating video of Mayfield and Trask has since gone viral, and credit goes to Kyle Burger of ABC Action News for compiling the montage of facepalm-worthy throws.
The first shot is, of course, Mayfield overthrowing a short pass to his tight end. Then, Trask steps up and airmails his pass, too. Then, in another drill, Mayfield sends one sailing way over his receiver's head. Then… you get the picture. It's both painful and hilarious to watch.
The Buccaneers have made it clear they're not rushing to pick a QB1 for the 2023 season, and this may be why. They simply have no good options right now.
On one hand, they can rip the training wheels off of Kyle Trask and send him wobbling into an NFC South that has grown sharper fangs this offseason. The Saints have Derek Carr, the Panthers have Bryce Young, and the Falcons have the dream of Lamar Jackson (and a solid running game).
Maybe Trask could have treaded water in last year's division, but this season brings a whole different ball game.
Both he and Mayfield will be trying to learn a new offense under coordinator Dave Canales, and based on the released video, they've got an offseason's worth of work to do. It may be too early to judge this bumbling duo just yet, but that won't stop fans from photoshopping Caleb Williams in a Bucs jersey. Every Bucs fan is thinking the same thing: Just survive this year. And: We miss you, Tom.