AUGUST 20: It appears that this competition will indeed come down to the final preseason game. Mayfield did not dress for the Bucs’ second preseason contest last night, a victory over the Jets, and ESPN’s Jenna Laine understandably took that to mean that Mayfield was on the verge of being named the Week 1 starter (Twitter link). However, head coach Todd Bowles revealed after his club’s 13-6 victory that he expects both Mayfield and Trask to play in Tampa Bay’s preseason finale against the Ravens next week (Twitter link via Greg Auman of FOX Sports).
The third quarterback on the depth chart, John Wolford, suffered a neck injury during the second half of the Jets game and was carted off the field, as Laine detailed. Fortunately, Wolford has feeling in his extermities, and Bowles indicated that all will be well with the former Rams signal-caller.
Further underscoring the as-yet-unsettled status of the club’s QB1 comeptition, Bowles said that he was prepared to send Mayfield into the game in relief of Wolford. Bowles only called upon Trask because he was already warmed up after having played the entire first half (Twitter link via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times).
AUGUST 16: With Anthony Richardson having won the starting job for the Colts, the quarterback competition in Tampa Bay is the lone remaining one around the league where the winner cannot at least be comfortably assumed. Plenty is yet to be determined regarding where Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask emerge in the pecking order. 
At the onset of training camp, the Buccaneers split first-team reps between the pair, something which came as little surprise. Mayfield came to Tampa Bay on a one-year, $4MM deal looking to avoid the disastrous end to his Panthers tenure from last season. The former No. 1 pick faces serious questions about his ability to retain a starting role in the NFL, and this Buccaneers opportunity may be his last if it does not go well. Trask, meanwhile, entered the league with relatively high expectations as a second-round pick, but he has yet to receive a starting opportunity.
Mayfield has long been considered the favorite to win the Week 1 starting gig, but his tenure in that role may not be permanent if things remain close between he and Trask. Tony Pauline of Sportskeeda reports that Tampa is willing to quickly install Trask as the No. 1 in the event Mayfield is tapped as the starter early but struggles to begin the season.
A final decision has not yet been made, and that will likely remain the case until after the team’s three preseason contests have been played. Mayfield outperformed Trask in the Buccaneers’ Friday loss to the Steelers, but Pauline notes the latter’s arm strength and his general lack of turnovers in camp could give him the edge to win the Week 1 start. The Florida product has expressed confidence about his readiness for the role despite having just nine regular season attempts to his name.
Regardless of who wins the job, Tampa Bay will be shorthanded in the receiving corps with Russell Gage out for the season. Fellow wideouts Mike Evans and Chris Godwin will be leaned on heavily by whomever starts the campaign under center, but it remains to be seen who that will be and how long of a leash they will be given.
Tony Pauline?
HAHAHAHAHA
Tony Pauladopoulas might sound better but not everyone wants to be Greek.
Give me a word, ANY word, and I will show that the root of that word….is Greek
I’ll give it a go. The word is: “dental”.
Dental…dental… ah! Easy. Dental, he comes from Greek word “dontia”, is mean, TEETH. You see, he is come from that word, is Greek!
(The movie uses “kimono”, but I did my best)
Top 5 pick in next years draft on the horizon for the bucks.
I don’t think Milwaukee is gonna be anywhere near a top 5 pick
Wow clever. By the way they have made amazing progress with stuttering issues.
Baker easily outplayed trash in week one but we will see in week 2 when they flip order.
Personally if you’re gonna tank then play trash and be done with it. Baker has shown decency at times as a starting QB. He did take cleveland to their first playoff win in ages and there’s that Rams/raiders game he won playing with 4th string WRs.
Baker can win with the guys TB has, just give him the starts and don’t threaten to bench him if he has a bad game. Trask is good, but probably not the long term answer at QB. Which is funny because he was pretty decent for Florida, actually better than Richardson, but people today don’t want a game manager or a guy who can get them to the playoffs every year. They want someone who can throw a 70 yard bomb, or run for 50 yards at a pop, or throw from seventeen different arm positions. Trask is not that guy, he’s not flashy. He’s Eli Manning, not Russell Wilson. In the division Tampa Bay is in they have a decent chance to go 9-8 and win the division.
The good news for the Bucs is they only have 2 afternoon games for Baker to lose. That will bring his record to 2-15 in mid day contests.
With the second pick in the 2024 draft the Buccaneers select…
What if they trade for Kyler and then Arizona can pick 1-2-3?
This should be a no-brainer. You go with Baker. He’s more talented than Trask. Bowles is coaching for his job though, so I guess he’s going to over-analyze the situation. They’ll probably both start at least 6 games this year, and Bowles will be fired before the season is done.
I was at the game last night. When you’re watching live without the benefit of a broadcast it’s hard to figure out what is going on. However, after seeing the amount of time he was out on the field with his teammates praying around him, it is hard to imagine that “all will be well” with Wolford so quickly. Even if he can recover relatively quickly, it’s probably best for him to at least go on the short term IR to start the season. If Tampa wants to carry an emergency QB on the 53-man roster, the team should bring someone else in. It should either be someone who accepts that role or who gets cut in final cuts by another team. Of the remaining free agent QB veterans who haven’t retired, I think Matt Ryan or Joe Flacco would take that role if it’s offered. Carson Wentz and, even someone who has been out for a year, Cam Newton think they would get the chance to compete for the starting role.