Mike Evans believes Bucs in good hands with Baker Mayfield or Kyle Trask

Gone are the days of Mike Evans catching passes from one of the most prolific quarterbacks of all time. Following Tom Brady‘s retirement, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are committing to letting a quarterback battle play out between former Florida quarterback Kyle Trask and former No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield.

Evans opened up about the two Bucs quarterbacks this week, emphasizing his faith in either one at the helm of the offense.

“Kyle’s improved a lot,” Evans told Ari Alexander of KPRC. “I’m really impressed with what I’ve seen with Baker. Whoever the quarterback will be, I’m positive they’re going to make the right choice and we’re going to win some games.”

Despite a breakout season in his final year with the Gators, Trask has had little opportunity to lead in Tampa Bay since joining the team as a second-round pick in 2021. He played in one game last season, completing three passes on nine attempts for 23 yards.

Baker Mayfield gets fresh start in Tampa Bay

On the other hand, Baker Mayfield has had plenty of opportunities to lead an NFL team. With the Cleveland Browns, Mayfield started for four seasons with the Browns before getting another shot with the Panthers.

In playing out the rest of the 2022 season with the Rams, the former Sooners star believes he may have revived his NFL career.

“I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason,” Mayfield said. “(It was the) first time I had fun playing football in a few years. It brought that feeling of having that success and really remembering what it was all about, Kind of hit the reset button for me.”

He also credited Rams coach Sean McVay and others on staff with helping with the reset.

“To be around those guys and to be in that offense and now looking forward to being in Tampa because it’s a very similar system with our new offensive coordinator [David Canales],” Mayfield said. 

Meanwhile, Canales wants healthy competition between the two quarterbacks that see this situation as their ticket to becoming the face of the franchise.

“I think Baker, would he love to be named the starter?” Canales said. “I’m sure. But Baker also knows this is his road back, too. From Cleveland to Carolina and L.A., you know, he’s been told, ‘No,’ a couple of times. And so for him to be able to come out here to win the team over in his own right, to perform and to show them that he can be the caliber quarterback that he believes he can be, I think I owe it to both of them and to the team to put the best guy out there.”