NBC: Agendas Of Front Office, Todd Bowles Might Be Why Bucs Haven’t Named A Starting Quarterback
August 22nd, 2023
One Buc Palace intrigue?
So there is dissent within the walls of One Buc Palace? That’s what one of the most plugged-in NFL guys in the fourth estate senses might be happening.
The creator, curator and overall guru of Pro Football Talk, the great Mike Florio, took to his Peacock national platform yesterday and shared a strong hunch the reason why the Bucs have not publicly crowned Baker Mayfield as the starting quarterback is differing agendas between the Bucs’ front office and coaching staff.
Florio believes Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht likely wants to give Kyle Trask every last opportunity available to win the job because Licht drafted Trask and Licht and his staff probably want to see what they have in the third-year quarterback from Florida.
If Trask proves to be that guy, great. If not, then the Bucs can continue working on drafting a quarterback next spring (provided Mayfield doesn’t get the job done).
Mayfield, Florio believes is the choice of Bucs coach Todd Bowles, who is very possibly coaching for his career.
Because the rope is being pulled in different directions, Florio states this could be why a starting quarterback has not been announced.
“There has been that notion, and Dave Canales, the new offensive coordinator in Tampa alluded to it earlier in the offseason, the idea of politics,” Florio said. “Because a second-round pick [was used] on Kyle Trask. Got to give him every chance. Got to give him every opportunity. … That may be part of it.
“Maybe the politics are more than just theoretical? Maybe you have Jason Licht saying, ‘Hey, you know what? Maybe Trask is the guy? Maybe we should go with Trask? We got Baker Mayfield for $4 million dollars. That’s veteran backup money. We don’t have to play Mayfield. We can start Trask. If it goes sideways we can go to Mayfield.’
“Maybe there is. Maybe there is something going on internally?”
Joe strongly believes Florio’s last point is accurate no matter who is starting. Bowles needs wins or his career as a head coach in the NFL is conceivably kaput. He cannot afford to stick with a quarterback very long who isn’t producing wins.
Bowles turns 60 in November. If the Bucs have a losing season, Bowles would have has five straight losing seasons through two head coaching gigs and is unlikely to get a third shot at his age.
(This is all assumes Team Glazer has not promised Bowles he will return next year, regardless of the team’s record.)
Florio added the delay in naming a starting quarterback does the Bucs no favors. In fact, it helps the Vikings, the Bucs’ opponent in Week 1.
“Mike Evans said last week we’re ready to know who the guy is,” Florio said. “Mayfield himself said on Friday, I’m ready to end this competition. …
“You’ve got to end the competition at some point. You’ve got to pick a horse at some point and get that guy ready for Week 1.
“The winner in all of this is the Vikings! The longer it takes for the Bucs to get their crap together about who is playing Week 1, the harder it is going to be for that offense to keep up with that Minnesota offense.”
Since it is a 1 p.m. kickoff at Minnesota, Florio noted that’s the time teams face the good Kirk Cousins.
For the first time Saturday, we saw all of Tampa Bay's cards. Just flip em' over at this point.
My thoughts on the Buccaneers QB battle and why waiting another week is procedural. It defeats the purpose of why Dave Canales fought hard for the battle in the first place. #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/As55VNWXvG
— Evan Closky (@ECloskyWTSP) August 22, 2023
August 22nd, 2023 at 4:00 am
Bowels needs to git gone.
Ajax Babaloochee would even be better,than him
August 22nd, 2023 at 4:20 am
This is why I was disappointed when we signed Baker. Trask never had a decent shot until this year. I knew he would ball out if given the chance.
This is what we’ve been saying this whole time. He had top receivers at Florida, he’ll have that here. The running game was meh at Florida for the most part. Mullen had him slinging the ball around like BA’s offense, so I do believe he’d be able to handle that workload as long as it’s not SpongeBob running the play calls.
The “underthrown pass” was not underthrown, it was perfect. If you watch it in slowmo, it’s right above the head of the DB. Not sure why Palmer tipped it, but whatever, moot point, he caught it. I think we’ll see more of those throws, the more he plays.
Just think, if we actually have a franchise qb, we have him for this year, and next year before he’s a FA. Unless he’s an all pro and maybe probowler, he could take a Jordan Love esq deal after next, so that we could build around him this upcoming draft.
He just needed a shot, and now that he’s getting it, there’s a little bit of doubt on who will be the qb… Not a lot, but the attitudes have changed from “Oh its Baker’s team for sure” to “Maybe there’s something more going on.”
August 22nd, 2023 at 4:21 am
Trade bait. Can it be as simple as that? Maximizing Trasks value to possibly move him
August 22nd, 2023 at 4:22 am
This is called smoke to confuse Minnesota..
August 22nd, 2023 at 4:22 am
This is called smoke to confuse Minnesota..!!!
August 22nd, 2023 at 4:31 am
I am really wondering now how the fans in Seattle felt about their QB competition. It is most certainly getting old for us and Canales said they waited until after the last pre-season game to decide. I damn sure hope the decision-making during a game is faster than this crap. Again it comes down to the miserable fact that Bowels is horrible at player evaluation.
August 22nd, 2023 at 4:40 am
Nah, i don’t believe there is discord between front office and coach at all.
Licht is the one who signed Mayfield.
Just something for Florio to write about.
They are not naming the starter to not make it any easier for the Vikings to prepare who they will face. That’s the only reason they have not officially
named Mayfield (who will be the starter) the starter.
August 22nd, 2023 at 4:45 am
Bowles F’d up his own plan. I believe Trask was 6-8 35yds in the first quarter. If Bowles would’ve just played Mayfield in the 2nd he most likely would’ve had a legit reason to name Baker QB1 after the game. But, Bowles gave Trask a chance and he capitalized on it in qtr 2 and after replacing Wolford in the 4th.
After all the talk about a qb competition, the only true way to settle this is by playing both with the starters vs the Ravens. Each qb should get 3 series to prove they can move the ball and score points
August 22nd, 2023 at 5:29 am
Well,.. with this decision making process, all the more reason to watch the final pre season game!
August 22nd, 2023 at 5:50 am
The safe bet is to start Mayfield. That said I thought Trask has played well enough in preseason and especially against the Jets to keep his hand in the game. I know Ira already called it for Baker, and probably due starting experience. But Mayfield hasn’t shown me that much.
August 22nd, 2023 at 5:51 am
Florio … ‘It defeats the purpose of why Dave Canales fought hard for the battle in the first place.’
First time I’ve heard that. Is that to imply that this whole FAIR COMPETITION idea evolved because of new OC Dave Canales’ insistence?
Florio’s s scenario (that Licht is pushing for Trask & Bowles is pushing for Mayfield) is not all that far-fetched. Pity poor Dave Canales who’d be caught in the middle if that’s the case.
August 22nd, 2023 at 5:54 am
The fact that it’s this close says that Trask should get a shot. I would imagine a guy with lots of experience would be destroying someone with little experience. They would have been named the starter already. We possibly wouldn’t need to draft a qb of the future at all. Only way of knowing this is let the guy play.
I see no reason that Bowles job would be on the line when it’s his first year he got to choose his staff here. If they fire Bowles, then I blame the Glazers, Licht, and possibly BA for how they handle Bruce Arians weird retirement before “the draft”, which have little explanation to it. Despite both BA and Brady was thinking should they stay or go, Bowles still got the team to the playoff. That include an offense that could barely get 17 points with an OC that should not have his name said. But, somehow his job is on the line… seriously Bucs organization?
August 22nd, 2023 at 6:06 am
Bowles vs Licht
Who do you trust to evaluate offensive talent?
August 22nd, 2023 at 6:52 am
Baker gets $4 million minimum. He play a LOT, he gets $8 million. Trask gets like $1.2 either way. No way that isn’t being taken into account
August 22nd, 2023 at 6:59 am
I’m tired of hearing that Trask “shined” and that he played “great.” Trask played against a weak Jets defense and he still put up lame numbers. Baker is just better. I’m sick of this whole thing!
August 22nd, 2023 at 7:04 am
And Baker played against the Steele Curtain week one…..
August 22nd, 2023 at 7:07 am
If anything they are helping Trask by letting him get more good film out there
August 22nd, 2023 at 7:19 am
And yet when Canales and Carroll didn’t name their starter until after the final pre-season game last year, did we see hand-wringing about Smith not being prepared enough for Week 1?
August 22nd, 2023 at 7:20 am
🙄
August 22nd, 2023 at 7:23 am
A lot of “maybe” in Florio’s words. He’s just spinning logic, not reciting news from being “plugged in”.
August 22nd, 2023 at 7:34 am
Neither will lead the Bucs to the promise land this year. Not going to get butt hurt over which one starts. Although…….History knows what Baker is and isn’t. The unknown makes Trask more intriguing to watch.
August 22nd, 2023 at 7:47 am
Maybe the loser in all this is the Vikings – Bucs are making them prepare for 2 potential starting QB’s.
August 22nd, 2023 at 8:33 am
I think a gm wants to win games and politics should not enter into that–losing records effects their job security as well as the coach
August 22nd, 2023 at 8:40 am
I’ll watch Trask because of the intrigue. There is no intrigue with Baker Mayfield.
August 22nd, 2023 at 8:47 am
I totally agree with you Nate!
August 22nd, 2023 at 9:09 am
On MNF Aikman was commenting how good Howell looked. He reflected on his first year starting and how he thought it would be easy based on the success he had in those games. He then went on to say how he went 0-11 that first year.
He also mentioned about Howell that it does not matter what round a guy is drafted in if he can play.
With a coach that is in damage control mode in year 2 I can understand how he cannot risk going with the Kid and allowing him to take his lumps.
Unfortunately the Bucs could not pump an additional 72 million into talent to help Mayfield succeed like the Browns did his first year in Cleveland.
We will see if he has the Moxie to carry a team come the 10th of September.
August 22nd, 2023 at 9:29 am
Florio is unreliable remember Brady going to what 3 other teams
August 22nd, 2023 at 9:36 am
I trust Florio about as far as I can throw him.
August 22nd, 2023 at 9:39 am
The question is what’s best for the Bucs organization, and that is a decision in which everyone needs a say, not just the coach. The owners, the GM, the Head Coach and the Offensive Coordinator should all put a name in the hat and see how it turns out.
August 22nd, 2023 at 9:41 am
There is a conflict between our Head Coach and Defense coordinator. All in the space between Bowles ears.
August 22nd, 2023 at 10:08 am
@HC Grover, it’s seems that Bolwes has space between your ears. We get it you don’t like the guy, but the decision to not name a starter isn’t his idea, it’s Canales’. He did the same thing in Seattle but I bet you won’t t show him any hate as a matter of fact none of you will.
August 22nd, 2023 at 10:15 am
The creator, curator and overall guru of Pro Football Talk, the great Mike Florio¨..
Wow that was a generous line, my dear Joe…
I find Fiorio disgusting…..
August 22nd, 2023 at 10:23 am
I don’t think Canales had the final say in who was starting in Seattle. Also don’t see the Bucs trading Trask, I think he has potential but you aren’t getting much in trade for him. Also killing trade value is that the 49ers floated trading their backup and there seemed to be no interest.
If we know who the starter is they should just name them and move on. If they aren’t sure I like the idea of rolling out starters in the first half for both QBs in the final preseason game.
August 22nd, 2023 at 10:33 am
The Coaches we have Must be told what to do…. There just puppets on a string….in that’s a Damn Shame..
August 22nd, 2023 at 10:35 am
Bowles career is already over. He is a failure as a head coach and proved that last year, again. Any excitement about anything good is more than offset with the realization that he’s draining all the energy right out of the team.
August 22nd, 2023 at 11:35 am
Todd Bowles will not be around after this upcoming losing season. I knew he was being set up for failure when they acquired Baker Mayfield.
August 22nd, 2023 at 11:58 am
Apparently the front office sees what everyone else sees, that Trask has performed better than Baker in practices and in games. That being said, Ira had better find another in-house source of information