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Kyle Trask of the Buccaneers could be pressed into action if Baker Mayfield is hurt.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have drafted exactly 1 quarterback in the last decade, taking Florida star Kyle Trask in the 2nd round (No. 64 overall) of the 2021 NFL draft. They never even saw fit to give him a chance to start in 4 seasons, despite multiple opportunities to do so.

Now, Trask is fighting to keep his NFL career alive with a hated NFC rival.

“Ex-Gators and Bucs QB Kyle Trask will be a tryout player at Saints rookie minicamp this weekend,” Fox Sports NFL reporter Greg Auman wrote on his official X account on Wednesday.

By all indications, Trask would be competing for a chance to be the 3rd emergency quarterback for the Saints, who have a starter in place with 2nd year quarterback Tyler Shough and 2 solid backups with Spencer Rattler and former No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson, although Rattler is likely trade bait between now and the start of the season.

Bucs Cut Trask After Re-Signing Him in 2025

The Buccaneers cut Trask in August 2025 despite signing him to a 1-year, $2.78 million contract in March.

It was a huge surprise when the Buccaneers parted ways with Trask, who’d served as a dutiful backup to 4 consecutive Pro Bowlers in 4 seasons with Tom Brady and Baker Mayfield.

Before the 2024 season,  Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton ranked Trask 30th out of all 32 backups, ahead of only Clayton Tune of the Arizona Cardinals and Stetson Bennett of the Los Angeles Rams.

“Most of the quarterbacks in the lowest tier have had rough career starts with poor performances,” Moton wrote in August 2024, pointing out that Trask had “minimal regular season experience.”

Buccaneers Spent Early-Round Pick on Trask

In 4 seasons with the Buccaneers, Trask only played in 3 games with zero starts, zero touchdowns, and zero interceptions on 3-of-10 passing for 33 yards and played out the entirety of a 4-year, $5.8 million rookie contract.

At the University of Florida, the 6-foot-5, 236-pound Trask was named All-SEC for Florida in 2020 after he threw for career highs of 4,328 yards, 43 touchdowns, and just 8 interceptions.

Pewter Report’s Matt Matera floated the possibility of the Buccaneers reuniting with Trask after he spent the 2025 season with the Atlanta Falcons, where he played for new Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Zac Robinson.

“Considering the Bucs’ cap situation, they won’t be putting much more into another quarterback than the $1.25 million they gave to Bridgewater,” Matera wrote. “That puts Tampa Bay in the bracket for players  like Gardner Minshew, Skylar Thompson or Kyle Allen. However, another route they could go with his bringing back Kyle Trask for another go in training camp to see how he looks with a second trial in Tampa Bay.”

Trask Had Tryout in AFC South Before Falcons

Trask got a tryout with the Indianapolis Colts before Week 7 before he finally landed a job with the Falcons.

“(Trask’s) new home with the Falcons makes perfect sense,” Heavy.com’s Christopher Sheppard wrote in November 2025. “After the season-ending injury to Michael Penix Jr., the Falcons needed some kind of insurance as they only had two rostered QBs in Kirk Cousins and Easton Stick.”

Picking Trask in the 1st place represents a pretty major failure by Tampa Bay’s scouting department. In the next 2 rounds, there were 5 Pro Bowlers and NFL All-Pros taken, including wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, center Drew Dalman, and guard Quinn Meinerz.