Just days after re-signing Ryan Griffin, the Bucs have re-signed another veteran quarterback. Blaine Gabbert, who has served as Tom Brady’s backup the last two years, has returned to Tampa Bay on a one-year deal.
The Bucs will carry four quarterbacks into training camp, and Gabbert’s re-signing likely means the team is done at the QB position. Any possible interest the team had in acquiring former Browns starter Baker Mayfield has likely come and gone.

Bucs QB Kyle Trask – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
While Griffin could likely have a role as the emergency veteran QB on the practice squad again, Gabbert, 32, will battle Kyle Trask, last year’s second-round pick, for the right to be Brady’s backup. Former Bucs head coach Bruce Arians is equally high on Gabbert and Trask and spoke about both this offseason.
“I’m really, really impressed with the things he needed to improve on,” Arians said. “ His running of the scout team, movement in the pocket and all the little things on and off the field.”
Trask was essentially the fourth-string QB last year and didn’t get many snaps in practice as a developmental prospect. When it looked like Brady wasn’t going to be an option due to his sudden retirement this offseason, Arians seemed ready to have Trask and Gabbert compete for the right to start.
“He can throw it, it’s a matter of does he turn it over?” Arians said about Trask. “It’s the same thing with Blaine. Does he turn it over? He’ll get a great opportunity.”
When Arians broke the news to NBC Sports’ Peter King and Sam Farmer of the L.A. Times about his own retirement from coaching, he praised Gabbert. Arians said Gabbert would have been the likely starter if Brady hadn’t ended his retirement after 40 days.
“Part of me was excited to coach Blaine Gabbert as the quarterback and prove to everybody, ‘Kiss my ass. He’s good,’” Arians said.
Gabbert’s Primary Role Is To Help Brady
Gabbert has the most experience of any of the Bucs quarterbacks in Arians’ system, dating back to the 2017 season in Arizona. Bucs quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen told Pewter Report that Gabbert’s experience was invaluable to Brady during his first year in Tampa Bay in 2020.

Bucs QBs Blaine Gabbert and Tom Brady and QBs coach Clyde Christensen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
“I don’t think anyone will realize how much Blaine helped Tom, especially in the Super Bowl run,” Christensen said. “Griff (Ryan Griffin) and Blaine really teamed up with Tom and helped merge everything. They did more work than anyone will ever realize and making that call sheet work for everybody. For him to dig in and have that big of a role in terms of how everyone sees a game plan and how everyone sees a call sheet helps him. It’s the whys – here’s why Tom likes this route, here’s why Tom is going to call versus Quarters coverage, or what Tom does against the blitz.
“He’s had a front-row seat, but it’s even more than that because he’s a part of it. He’s part of developing the game plan. He is part of getting the calls on the sheet. He’s part of executing, critiquing and tweaking it. That has made him a better quarterback already and kept him involved. Blaine’s not a backup quarterback. He’s an assistant quarterback coach. He is an extra set of eyes for Tom. He’s the coordinator’s helper. He is all of those things.”
Over the past two seasons, Gabbert, a former first-round pick of Jacksonville in 2011, has completed 16-of-27 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns in reserve duty behind Brady. The Bucs were undefeated in all six games Gabbert saw action in during the 2021 regular season.
“The Bucs were undefeated in all six games Gabbert saw action in during the 2021 regular season.”. so, if we get Gabbert action in every game statistically we will go undefeated! Done deal.
Gabbert was undefeated because whenever he went in it was garbage time and the Bucs were up by a lot of points!
Very true lol
Gabbert read the book, “How to become a millionaire without really trying.”
Griff too……
Maybe like other former Arains players he get’s into coaching. This might be Lefty’s last year so I could see Blaine becoming an offensive asst. some day soon.
This tells me they know Trask isn’t even back up material at this point. If he was they wouldn’t need Gabbert. I know “he’s being groomed to be the starter says NaplesDumbass.” That doesn’t mean you can’t at least be considered a back up first duh!
There is now way to know if Trask makes a Y2 jump but it was known he needed work from an NFL coaching staff to be NFL average. So I am not expecting much from Trask but he could end up being serviceable or a younger version of Griff.
There you go again, douchebag Fredster with your always reliable dumbass comments guaranteed to reduce the average IQ of any thread you participate in by at least 50 points.
Gabbert is not going to compete for the no. 2 job – Jason Licht already declared in a media interview last week that Gabbert’s only contribution to the Bucs last season was to help Trask get ready to play.
SR is probably touching himself over this one.
I like that Gabbert and Griff are back. Lets them compete with Trask. Keep the best two behind Tom and move onto the regular season.
There won’t be a competition. Trask is the quarterback of the future and Gabbert certainly is not. His main fan in the organization was Bruce Arians, but of course he’s no longer the head coach.
Trask is clean up man; Gabbert is for come in the game if Brady is injured.Griffins PS Player
How much was the contract worth?
They weren’t just gonna give to Trask he was going to have to compete and this is what it is let’s see if he can beat out Gabbert.
What a day for Scott! Finally GM Licht listened to the GM of our Hearts = Scott Reynolds.
Maybe this could be the coffin nail for J.C.’s favourite Ross “Cock” Cockrell, to free up some cap space. Because it’s cap and not “cock space”….
As far as I’m concerned, this long anticipated re-signing of Gabbert has more to do with the team’s belief in him and less to do with the team’s evaluation of Kyle Trask. Absolutely nothing has changed with our QB group since the end of the season. As I recall, Trask got very few repetitions in Training Camp and played only a few snaps in one preseason game because that was the plan then. I suspect that plan will change this off-season and the youngster will be given far more opportunities to demonstrate his worth for now and in the future.