Tampa Bay Buccaneers list Baker Mayfield, Kyle Trask as co-starters in first depth chart

The battle to replace Tom Brady has been an interesting one in Tampa Bay. Kyle Trask was the Buccaneers’ de facto incumbent after serving as the third-string quarterback last year, but the franchise brought in Baker Mayfield to compete with him.

When the team put out its first depth chart Tuesday morning, the team made an interesting decision. It listed Trask “OR” Mayfield as the starting quarterback.

The Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud posted the depth chart on social media, which also showed John Wolford as the third-string QB. That decision is common at the college level, where teams usually list as quarterback “or” another on the depth chart. At the NFL level, though, that’s not as common.

Bucs first depth chart lists Baker Mayfield OR Kyle Trask as the starter. Rookie Calijah Kancey is the starter at DT and Cody Mauch is the other rookie starter at LG. pic.twitter.com/kPnpiUKZAR

— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) August 8, 2023

Tampa Bay is gearing up for its first preseason game Friday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and that could be another big step in the battle between Trask and Mayfield.

The Bucs drafted Trask with the No. 32 overall pick in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Florida, where he put together an impressive career. As a junior in 2020, Trask threw for 4,283 yards and 43 touchdowns to help the Gators to an 8-4 record and a Cotton Bowl appearance.

Since entering the league, he has only appeared in one game, completing 3 of 9 passes for 23 yards against the Atlanta Falcons last year.

Mayfield is in his first training camp with Tampa Bay after a whirlwind 2022 season. He requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns and wound up with the Carolina Panthers after Cleveland signed Deshaun Watson. He then found himself sitting behind Sam Darnold and got his release, which is when he headed to the Los Angeles Rams.

A former No. 1 overall pick, Mayfield threw for over 3,000 in all four of his years with the Browns. Last year, however, he totaled 2,163 yards with 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions between Carolina and Los Angeles.

The competition between Mayfield and Trask has taken a few turns this offseason, and another one will come with Friday’s preseason game. But Trask said it’s been a good battle so far, and he’s staying focused on what he can do to become the starter and not get caught up in everything else.

“I’ve been in a lot of quarterback competitions in my football career and I think the main thing you can focus on is just playing the best that you can,” Trask said Monday, via the team’s website. “There’s a lot of things that are out of your hands, in terms of the competition. It’s the same for me: stay focused on what I can do. I know it’s obviously cliché but it’s the truth – I’m just focused on getting our offense in the best play, the best checks that I possibly can.”