Buccaneers
Bucs QB Kyle Trask believes the team is going to give him every opportunity to win the starting job over QB Baker Mayfield.
“I’ve just been told it’s an open competition. But at the end of the day, I know the team’s gonna do what they have to do to put whoever on the field that’s gonna allow our team to be the most successful,” Trask said, via Around The NFL. “For me, I feel at this time, I just really need to hone in and be as consistent as I can. At the end of the day, I’m just trying to do whatever I can to make this team succeed. Fortunately enough, I’ve had two years of prior experience with a very veteran quarterback room, and there’s a lot to take away from that. I’m going to try to implement those styles and routines that they had into my routine and hopefully that’ll make us more successful at the end of the day.”
Former Bucs head coach and current senior football consultant Bruce Arians believes the team is in good hands with Trask.
“I think we’re in good hands with Kyle Trask,” Arians said. “I love Kyle, he’s been there two years now…Blaine Gabbert was a great mentor for him. But just like three years ago, you’ve got to search what’s behind door number two. Three years ago, we never would’ve guessed Tom Brady was behind door number two. So you do your research, you do all your homework, and then you decide what’s best for you. But right now, I’m very comfortable if Kyle’s our guy.”
Falcons
Falcons QB Desmond Ridder said he’s considered himself to be the team’s starting quarterback since being promoted to the role following their Week 14 bye last season.
“Week 14, whenever that was, and going through the bye week, that’s when I was told then,” Ridder said, via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “From that point on, it was just going into the offseason, myself just taking it as if you’re the starter. . . . That was my mindset from as soon as I stepped on the field for the first time down in New Orleans, was to obviously take it and run with it.”
- The Falcons hosted Iowa TE Sam LaPorta for a pre-draft visit. (Daniel Flick)
- Oklahoma RB Eric Gray is taking a top 30 visit with the Falcons. (Justin Melo)
Panthers
It’s not clear yet if or when new Panthers OC Thomas Brown will get to call plays, as HC Frank Reich has decided to keep that role for now. But Brown has had the pivotal responsibility of building Carolina’s new playbook from scratch this offseason, melding things he learned in Los Angeles from Rams HC Sean McVay along with staples Reich has leaned on from his years in the NFL.
“The beginning for myself and the rest of the staff was really breaking everything down to build it back up,” Brown said via Augusta Stone of the team website. “So building a brand-new offense from ground zero essentially based on what we’ve done before, both myself in my previous experiences from the Rams, but also in college as well. Then kind of blending together with what Frank has done, and guys in the room as well.”
Though Reich will be the one talking with the quarterback on gamedays, he’s given Brown total ownership of this part of the process. In turn, Brown has collaborated with the rest of the staff, including assistant HC/RB coach Duce Staley, QB coach Josh McCown and OL coach James Campen.
“The first thing I really appreciate about Frank is he’s let me just roll so far,” Brown said. “So being able to kind of put my own stamp on it and just be with the guys in this room while he handles some stuff from a head coach standpoint, it’s been awesome for me. But it also (allows) us to have a great dialogue, great rapport in this room from an offensive coaching staff standpoint. When it comes to presentations, it is honestly a lot of prep work beforehand. I’ll present it in front of the entire group, get feedback. … Once we get done and solidified, (we) get with Frank, make sure he’s on the same page, and we’re good with that.”
As far as what the new offense will look like, Brown said it will be built around the strengths of the players first, with guiding philosophical elements like the “illusion of complexity,” attacking with tempo and excelling at situational football. He added there will be extra emphasis on the offensive line as the foundation of everything they do.
“Everything starts up front when it comes to how you protect the quarterback, how you run the football, your play-action game,” Brown said. “If those guys aren’t in sync and can’t perform at a high level, I don’t really care how good your quarterback, running back, receivers, and tight ends are because we won’t have the time to operate if those guys can’t get it done. In today’s world, the guys across the board are getting bigger, faster, stronger, so you’ve got to be able to block those guys and give yourself time to operate in both phases – the run game and also the passing game.”
- Panthers QB Andy Dalton said he was eager to play under McCown and thought Carolina would be a “cool” place to play, per Joseph Person.
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