The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have officially named Tom Brady's successor. Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles announced Baker Mayfield as the team's starting quarterback on Tuesday, beating out third-year signal-caller Kyle Trask.
It was widely expected that Mayfield would be the starter upon his signing a one-year contract with Tampa Bay in March. The veteran has been a successful starter in the NFL before, though he's struggled over the last two seasons.
The Buccaneers will be the fourth different team that Mayfield starts a game for over the span of three seasons. He showed enough in four starts with the Los Angeles Rams last season to warrant another shot after being released by the Carolina Panthers earlier in the year.
Mayfield went 1-3 as the Rams' starter last season, completing 63.6 percent of his passes for 850 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. Overall, Mayfield had a 79 passer rating in 12 games (10 starts) in 2022, which ranked 30th out of 33 qualified quarterbacks.
The Buccaneers' plan for Trask to become the starting QB following Brady's retirement has not come to fruition. He was given an opportunity to earn the job this summer but ultimately did not do enough to beat out Baker Mayfield. Given the way Mayfield played last season, Trask could see some time as the Bucs' starter in 2023.
Perhaps Kyle Trask got the short end of the stick by having to go through a battle in camp, but nothing is given in the NFL. The Buccaneers also have a great opportunity to return to the postseason in a wide-open NFC South. Having the right man under center can go a long way in making that happen.
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