Kyle Trask is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ backup QB who lived in the shadows of the GOAT Tom Brady and then under their new veteran QB Baker Mayfield. It may look like the Buccaneers have been quite harsh on the QB, who has just featured in 4 games in the 2024 season. Now, after three years of toiling on the sidelines and warming up the benches, he is hitting free agency, and there will be offers lined up for the services of Trask, right?
Well, it would be a stretch to say that offers will line up for him, and it wouldn’t even be reasonable to point out that the Buccaneers will extend him the contract. They are out in the market to find a solid backup QB who can fill in for Mayfield on occasion of his absence, which could be due to injuries. Tampa Bay had finally locked in on a very underrated target in the draft. But now it seems it’s out in the open, and there may be more suitors for the less acclaimed QB than expected, and here’s why.
The QB we are talking about here is Tyler Shough, who has a massive 6 years of experience playing in ‘Power 4’ teams in college football. He is also someone who had an impressive season last year, as he garnered a 62.7% pass completion rate for 3,195 years for the Louisville Cardinals. So much was his influence on the team that the Cardinals handed an upset to Clemson by 33-21 and to Georgia Tech by 31-19. In a sense, the player is NFL-ready in more ways than we can analyze. Todd McShay provided the reasoning.
“When we got in the car driving back, it was the most interesting interview that I’ve ever been a part of, and I’ve talked to Hall of Famers. I’ve done all of it, like I’ve been very fortunate to do all of it because there was insight in this young man (Tyler Shough) that I hadn’t seen before talking to all these quarterbacks coming out, like truly like it was awesome”. In a different interview with the NFL on NBC, Tyler Shough also provided why he is not worried about the concerns of his age in the media.
He replied to a question if he was concerned about his draft chances due to his age. “So far, none (concerns about his age) from the coaches or NFL personnel. Only from the media, and I think you know more than anything, just kind of letting them know it’s been an advantage for me. I feel like, if anything, it’s kind of helped me characterize who I am. Going through those experiences and, I think you see quarterbacks play well into their 30s, even better ball late into their 30s where you got (Tom) Brady, (Aaron) Rodgers, you know, winning MVPs, and Matthew Stafford playing well right now so I think more than anything it’s kind of helped me.”
And believe it or not, age is just a number in the NFL right now; furthermore, his determination to learn from his peers is something to be praised. For context, hear this.
Tyler Shough is going guns blazing into the NFL Combine
Shough has the required experience to perform at least as a backup in the NFL. He is also a prospect who will probably go in later rounds in the draft. That would essentially mean teams could grab him at a massive bargain as opposed to signing free agents, which could be quite expensive. Moreover, he is looking determined for the NFL Combine, too, where he says he will learn from one of his former teammate’s experience.
“You know, I want to go through heat; you know, this is like a dream of everybody’s here and let’s just go have fun. You’re obviously, it’s not going to go perfect. Even if I’m gonna throw it, maybe not in the right spot. I think that might be every throw. It’s like I wish I would have been more here. It’s like this is fun. Like, this is all a great opportunity, and I think I want to go showcase what I can do and throw, and, I think for me, it’s just really exciting to what you said. You know, obviously every situation is different. I think you see a guy like Justin (Herbert) and what he did, and I was talking to Chad Pennington earlier. He’s been one of our legends, guys.”.
Justin Herbert, the current Chargers quarterback, was a teammate of Tyler Shough at Oregon and was the sixth overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft. Surely, Tyler has learned a lot from Herbert’s NFL Combine experience and will look to perform to the best of his abilities in the combine. The verdict?
Well, Tyler looks like a real deal as a backup quarterback for various teams in the NFL. And after Todd McShay’s verdict, the hype and his stock will surely rise. The Buckeneers currently have the 19th draft pick in the first round, 21st pick in the second round, and 20th pick in the 3rd round. The question now is: Can the Buccaneers land their backup QB in Tyler Shough, or will they have to go for a more expensive free agent?
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