The Bucs have made Baker Mayfield their starting quarterback this week, effectively ending the team’s QB competition with Kyle Trask, a former second-round pick who will be the backup.

That comes as no surprise considering Mayfield enters his sixth year in the NFL with 69 career starts under his belt. But what was a bit of a surprise was just how much Trask improved this August from a year ago when he was competing with Blaine Gabbert to be Tom Brady’s backup. For the second straight year, Trask was relegated to third-string status, but he now moves one spot up the depth chart ahead of veteran John Wolford, who will be the No. 3 QB.

More importantly, Trask’s stock has moved up considerably in the eyes of head coach Todd Bowles, general manager Jason Licht and offensive coordinator Dave Canales, especially on the heels of last Saturday’s performance. In a 13-6 win over the Jets, Trask played three quarters of the game, completing 20-of-28 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions.

Kyle Trask Showed He’s “The Real Deal” From Bucs’ QB Competition

Bucs OC Dave Canales and QBs Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

While Baker Mayfield won the starting job largely due to his experience, a better version of Kyle Trask emerged out of the Bucs’ quarterback competition. Trask pushed Mayfield to be a better version of himself this summer.

“Lots of positives from both guys, looking at it,” Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales said. “Thinking about what Baker has been able to do…[for] a little bit there in the middle of camp, Kyle showed he’s the real deal. Baker felt the heat and had a couple of days where it wasn’t quite sharp. He turned it around, had a fantastic first preseason game with a couple drives – took us down, had a touchdown, the communication was smooth.

“Then he just kind of settled right in for that following week leading up to the Jets, showing up in that practice and [it was] just really like a good feeling like, ‘We’re settled here with this guy.’ Everything felt like it was running smoothly.”

If there’s an injury situation or ineffectiveness from Mayfield, the team feels much better about inserting Trask into the game after seeing how he performed in training camp, and especially against the Jets.

“Kyle played fantastic in the game, so it really made it challenging,” Canales said. “We’re fortunate, going into this thing, that we didn’t just name a starter going into it without giving Kyle a chance to show what he can do, because I think he earned a lot of respect in the locker room, on the coaching staff, in the fanbase for Bucs fans out there to see Kyle is real – he is the real deal. I couldn’t feel any better about our quarterback situation going into Week 1.”

Dave Canales Recognizes Kyle Trask’s Talent

Kyle Trask was only slated to play the first half of the Bucs’ 13-6 win over the Jets on Saturday night, but had to re-enter the game when John Wolford suffered a neck injury. That turned out to be a fortunate move for Trask because he connected on three throws over 20 yards in the second half and looked even better than he did in the first half.

Bucs QB Kyle Trask – Photo by: USA Today

In just one training camp and two preseason games, offensive coordinator Dave Canales has seen enough to know that Trask has the talent to win with in the NFL.

“Oh, absolutely,” Canales said. “And the cool part about us is we’ve got all the film, so we get to watch all the quarterbacks that are playing in the preseason, whether they’re playing the starters for a few series or the backups for a few series. If you watch Kyle’s film and you throw on any of the games across the league, you’ll see this is a real talent – this is a real starting level talent at quarterback. He just has [calmness] in the pocket, he’s accurate and he just stays cool throughout the whole thing – good or bad series, he’s right back on it. Pretty cool.”

Canales said that both Mayfield and Trask handled the quarterback competition – and the outcome – like professionals. While the Bucs are excited about Trask’s progress and development, the team is equally excited about a better version of Mayfield taking the field as the starter thanks to the competition with Trask.

“They’re doing fantastic,” Canales said. “I can feel how serious Baker is taking this opportunity, this chance with this team. It’s an exciting time for us and I can feel that he knows the weight of it. That’s good, as long as he can put it in his rightful place, handle that pressure, carry it well and then just keep everything else really simple with it. Then, that’s okay. He doesn’t have to act like the pressure isn’t there or that the situations aren’t real. It’s about looking at it, dealing with it, and continuing to perform at a basic level.”

Scott Reynolds States That The Bucs’ QB Competition Was All About Kyle Trask

Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds did a Pewter Pulse episode on how the Bucs’ QB competition was really set up to develop Kyle Trask. You can watch the video by clicking below.