Bucs officially name Tom Brady successor: ‘Time to Bake’

Tom Brady’s successor has been named in Tampa Bay. 

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles named Baker Mayfield as the starting quarterback as Tampa Bay prepares to open the 2023 regular season against the Minnesota Vikings, with Kyle Trask backing up the No. 1 pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. 

“Baker is our starting quarterback. Kyle is No. 2,” Bowles told reporters Tuesday. 

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The Buccaneers’ social media team posted the news to X, formerly known as Twitter, shortly after the announcement was made. 

Mayfield and Trask have been competing for the right to replace Brady during training camp, with the first unofficial depth chart listing the starting quarterback position as Mayfield “OR” Kyle Trask.

Mayfield was given the starting nod for the first preseason game, completing eight of nine passes for 63 yards and a touchdown. 

Trask got the start against the New York Jets in Week 2 of the preseason, throwing for 218 yards and a touchdown as Mayfield sat. 

The Bucs signed Mayfield to a one-year deal in the offseason after he played for two teams during the 2022 NFL season. 

Mayfield is looking for a fresh start as he plays for his fourth team in three years. 

“I don’t need anyone on the outside to tell me what I can or can’t do,” Mayfield said in July, via the Buccaneers website.

“I know what I am capable of. Yeah, I mean I got hurt in Cleveland. That is why my run ended there. Then last year, it was what it was in Carolina. Everything happens for a reason. I am here now, and I am ready to go. This team, you talk about skeptics and what the narrative is around this team, I think it speaks to our veterans and the people that were a part of the run to the Super Bowl and the success that they have had recently, more so than me. I will always have a chip on my shoulder.”

Trask was selected by the Bucs in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft and has yet to start a game.