Buccaneers’ Todd Bowles doesn’t need Baker Mayfield, Kyle Trask to be ‘Superman’

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles seems to understand neither Baker Mayfield nor Kyle Trask will be the second coming of Tom Brady for the organization. 

“You don’t need to be the guy; you need to rely on the 10 guys around you,” Bowles said at the league meetings about what he’s looking for in a new starting quarterback, according to Brianna Dix of the Buccaneers’ website. “You don’t need to be the guy. We are not looking for a guy to come in here and be Superman. We have great players, you have Mike Evans, you have Chris Godwin, you have Rachaad [White], you have Tristan [Wirfs], you have Ryan Jensen, you have Cade Otton coming; You have guys that you can play with and pieces, so you do not have to be the guy. You just really need to drive the car.”

Trask, an unproven 2021 second-round draft pick, rose to the top of the depth chart after Brady retired “for good” on Feb. 1, but the Buccaneers then signed Mayfield to a one-year “prove it” contract this month. 

It’s thought Bowles may prefer to start Mayfield even though general manager Jason Licht has insisted that the two signal-callers will compete for the job this summer. 

“Leadership is a big percentage of it but you got to be able to run the offense, as well,” Bowles told the JoeBucsFan website about who could win the battle between Mayfield and Trask. “Running the offense is very important but leadership is part of it. They go hand and hand.” 

Bowles also referred to Mayfield as “a natural-born leader” during that conversation. 

“Baker’s won in college,” Bowles told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. “He’s been to the playoffs as a pro, and he brings us a lot of leadership. I think this style of offense will fit him really well. I think it will be a good battle between him and Trask to see who will win.”

Meanwhile, Buccaneers co-owner Joel Glazer indicated Trask will have a real opportunity to win the gig before Week 1. 

“We all knew at some point that Tom was going to retire and we’d have to turn the page and look to the future, so when we drafted Kyle a couple of years ago, everyone thought highly of him,” Glazer remarked to JoeBucsFan. “He’s been able to sit and learn, which a lot of young quarterbacks don’t. So we’re excited to see what he can do. And then bringing in Baker Mayfield, Baker has had success in this league. He’s been around for several years and I think he will be well served by getting to a camp early, a fresh start for him. Competition is always good and we’re looking forward to the competition in training camp.”

Mayfield recently noted he will “never” be Brady, but either the No. 1 pick of the 2018 NFL Draft or Trask will inevitably be tasked with replacing a living legend at the position.