Bucs GM Hopeful Tom Brady ‘Rubbed Off’ On Potential 2023 Starter

Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht is of the mindset Tom Brady will remain retired, leaving Tampa Bay to fill the void left by the legendary quarterback. Licht nevertheless remains optimistic given the team’s potential starter in 2023 saw Brady’s greatness firsthand in the quarterback room.

Licht spoke highly about quarterback Kyle Trask, a second-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, and seemingly hopes Brady’s presence the last two seasons left Trask with a layout of success.

“I think Kyle has been around him (Brady) every day for the last two years and I think it’s rubbed off on him,” Licht told reporters Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, per a team-provided transcript.

“Kyle right now is one of the players that’s working out by himself every day,” Licht said. “I see him out of my office window on the field by himself every day. I think he’s realized the importance of what he has to do to get to where he wants to be.”

Trask played in one game for the Buccaneers over the last two seasons.

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He previously spent three seasons with the Florida Gators program, playing in 12 games during each of the 2019 and 2020 campaigns. Trask threw for 43 touchdowns with eight interceptions in his final season against Southeastern Conference competition.

“We’re very excited about Kyle,” Licht said. “We’re very excited about him getting the opportunity to be the starter — we’d be very comfortable with that. … We took him in the second round for a reason — we didn’t take him in the second round just to be a third-string quarterback. Now, it has yet to be seen what he turns out to be, but we’re confident that it’s going to be very good.”

Licht indicated Tampa Bay could provide some competition for Trask. The Buccaneers seem to be among the handful of teams who could pursue a veteran free agent this offseason. But the experience Trask gained the last two seasons might give him an advantage over those on the open market.