NFC Notes: Buccaneers, Falcons, Saints

Buccaneers

Buccaneers QB coach Clyde Christensen said 2021 second-round QB Kyle Trask would have a chance to compete with Blaine Gabbert for the backup job, but didn’t sound optimistic about his chances. Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles confirmed there will be a competition and at the very least didn’t sound as skeptical as Christensen. 

“There’s competition everywhere, so there will be competition at that spot as well,” Bowles said via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “(Gabbert) finished the season at No. 2. We like Blaine. Trask is going to get his chance to play and compete and if he’s better, he’ll be No. 2. If he’s not, he won’t be. But he will have a chance to compete. He knows that, and everybody knows that.”

• Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles says there is no timetable on the potential return of TE Rob Gronkowski, who remains undecided about suiting up again in 2022. (Rick Stroud)
• Buccaneers fourth-round TE Cade Otton feels he will be ready for training camp after undergoing surgery for a season-ending ankle injury last year. (Jenna Laine)
• The Buccaneers have hired former Mississippi State LB DeAndre Ward as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. (Greg Auman)

Falcons

• Falcons HC Arthur Smith on the trade with the Raiders for WR Bryan Edwards: “He’s a guy who can win outside 1-on-1 and certainly has shown he can play in traffic inside the numbers. This guy has made big plays. He’s not even 23 years old. When I was at the previous spot, we really liked him coming out.” (Josh Kendall)

Saints

• Per ESPN’s Mike Triplett, Saints HC Dennis Allen said he’s heard from all his neighbors about their signing of WR Jarvis Landry, who’s from Louisiana and played at LSU: “He has obviously been a really good player in our league. He’s a guy that can move the chains. And we feel like he’s guy from a character standpoint, from a leadership standpoint, we can use.” 
• Allen was impressed with first-round WR Chris Olave at rookie minicamp: “A guy that is really fast, smooth in transition, good route runner. And look, ultimately, he’s the type of character person that we wanted to bring into the building. And I think that’s as important as anything.”
• New Orleans added another player with strong LSU/Louisiana roots in S Tyrann Mathieu, but Allen again pointed to the on-field contributions, specifically the leadership void left when Malcolm Jenkins retired: “He’s here because he’s a really good football player. He’s a playmaker. We feel like he’s still got a lot of good football left in him, and we feel like he’s got some of the leadership qualities that maybe we lose out on when we lose a guy like Malcolm.” (Katherine Terrell)
• Saints UDFA RB Abram Smith was a candidate to be drafted in the sixth round by New Orleans, but a war room debate ultimately led to DT Jordan Jackson being the pick. (Terrell)