The Headline From Camp Today: Trask Comfortable In Session With The Starters

With the Bucs first preseason game on the horizon this Saturday, Thursday’s practice was little more than a glorified walk-through. It was eerily quiet without the attendance of fans for the first time during camp at the AdventHealth Training Center. Tom Brady’s reps were limited throughout the day, but we did get to see a lot more of Kyle Trask than we have in recent days. Trask made the most of that opportunity.

The Bucs had an interesting session where Trask got to work with the starters on offense in the red zone against the starting defense. The former Gators quarterback obviously had a lot of talent around him at Florida, and we saw him excel with the Bucs potential future Hall Of Famers.

In limited first team reps, Trask completed two passes across the middle to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin for big gains. Trask got the ball out quick and placed it where they could keep moving up the field. Another pass fell incomplete in the end zone, but it was a good ball that hit off the helmet of Scotty Miller.

“It’s definitely good. I try to take advantage of those reps,” Trask said. “Especially just to really soak in the speed of the gameplay at this level. I’m really thankful to get any reps that I can. I’m trying to capitalize especially on those.”

It wasn’t just the work with the starters that made Trask stand out. He looked as comfortable as we’ve seen him so far throughout training camp. He was making the right reads at the right time, and getting the ball out when needed. There was no stutter-step in his progression, no second-guessing throwing the ball. Trask was just slinging it. He took some calculated risks throwing the ball into tight windows, but most of the time he fit it in perfectly. Trask threaded a needle to De’Quan Hamilton for a touchdown, and also had good chemistry with Miller, Jaelon Darden and Josh Pearson.

Bruce Arians has seen a lot of positive things out of Trask lately.

“Really good,” Arians said on Wednesday. “He was outstanding in every snap he had today. Got the ball out of his hands. The last one was probably his only – it wasn’t even a bad throw, there wasn’t anybody open. Fundamentally, he’s really getting better, and I like where he’s at.”

Tom Brady has seen an improvement as well.

“Kyle’s done a great job from the day that he got here,” Brady said. “He’s a very hard worker. Clyde (Christensen) works extremely hard with him to get him ready to go. Kyle’s out here early, stays late, works with the younger guys. All the things that you’re really looking for in a young player. This has got to be a huge priority in your life. If you want to be doing this job for a long time, you got to make it a huge priority.”

Bucs Players Out Of Practice

WR Antonio Brown and TE O.J. Howard sat out Thursday’s practice for maintenance purposes. C Robert Hainsey missed his ninth consecutive practice and was ruled out for Saturday’s preseason game. Hainsey did snap to Tom Brady on the side in between reps and during 7-on-7 drills, so perhaps a return is imminent.

S Jordan Whitehead, C Donell Stanley, WR Cyril Grayson and OT Josh Wells also missed practice. OLB Cam Gill continues to sit out due to injury, wearing a boot on his left foot.

Bucs Practice Notes

Practice started in 11-on-11s, as Brady hit Evans on a go route with Sean Murphy-Bunting in coverage. Each receiver has their moments, with Tyler Johnson making numerous receptions from Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Griffin. Jaelon Darden made several plays with Gabbert throwing him the ball. Miller was all over the place, finding chemistry with all four quarterbacks.

It’s not easy for the defense to make a ton of big plays when you’re in shorts and helmets, but outside linebacker Elijah Ponder had a nice rush on the outside early on. Then in red zone drills, Mike Edwards came off the edge and beat Donovan Smith to the quarterback. Joe Tryon also had a nice run stop during a drill.

The ball skills show continued for Nate Brooks, who had a nice pass breakup on a ball intended for Miller. With Gill out, outside linebacker Ladarius Hamilton had a “sack” on Trask.

It was a tough day for safety Raven Greene who allowed multiple catches, including one for a touchdown to Cam Brate. Linebackers K.J. Britt, Joe Jones and Grant Stuard struggled as well, often finding themselves trailing in coverage.

Brady and Rob Gronkowski connected a few times during practice. The first came in red zone drills and another came during 7v7 on a catch down the right sideline. Brate got himself into the mix too, also catching a sideline ball from Brady on the left side. Brate then caught a pass from Griffin as the veteran tight end eases his way back into practice.

As the Bucs moved to red zone drills, Brady found Evans on a go-route at Murphy-Bunting’s expense once again. A few plays later, the duo connected on a long gain with Carlton Davis in coverage. Brady and Evans have been on the same wavelength for all of training camp.

After a good practice yesterday, kicker Ryan Succop was given the day off from kicking drills. It was rookie Jose Borregales who got the nod and excelled. He made all seven of his kicks during the period, his last one from 50 yards out. Then in situational work Borregales booted a 60-yarder through the uprights. While Succop’s job is safe, Borregales should earn himself a practice squad offer if he keeps it up.

Following practice, Arians said that the Bucs are ready to play some ball. While they’re set to play on Saturday night, that time could be moved up to the morning due to the impending tropical storm. When will Arians know? He joked that with the NFL league office, probably about 10 minutes before kickoff.