NFC Notes: Kyle Trask, Laviska Shenault, Buccaneers, Panthers, Saints

Buccaneers

Bucs QB Kyle Trask said he and QB Baker Mayfield are pushing each other to be the best versions of themselves possible.

Yeah, but that’s the point of sports. We love competition,” Trask said, via PFT. “We’ve been competing our whole lives in this sport, so obviously there is no bad blood or anything like that. We’re just pushing each other and making sure we are always getting better every day.

Trask said his relationship with Mayfield is “really good.

I think the whole quarterback room that they’ve built is really good,” Trask said. “Everyone has great experience and something to offer. They’ve played a lot of snaps of football and have seen a lot of things in a similar offensive setting too, so there is a lot of stuff for everybody to learn.

Panthers

Panthers WR Laviska Shenault ended up pushed down the totem pole with Carolina’s offseason additions at wide receiver. But the team remains excited about a potential role for him as a schemed touch player after he flashed on limited touches in 2022. Panthers HC Frank Reich cited 49ers WR Deebo Samuel as a potential model for how to use Shenault. 

“I think it’ll be interesting,” Reich said via NFL Media’s Kevin Patra. “Laviska has been one of those guys out here that’s looked good. We’ll continue to investigate the different roles he can play. Obviously, even if we have this grandiose plan, which maybe we do, but I wouldn’t reveal that here and now, all the different ways you can use him. You look at guys like Deebo Samuel and stuff like that and say, ‘can Laviska do some of that?’ Of course he can. We’ll experiment with some of that stuff. We’ll experiment with some of that stuff. Some of it will get incorporated and some of it won’t.”

Saints

Saints TE Juwan Johnson had the best season of his career in 2022 and is now watching tape of former Patriots WR Julian Edelman in order to study his game and become a better route runner, which is something that QB Derek Carr asked him to do. Johnson also wants to improve as a run and pass blocker before the season begins. 

“He loves those routes that Edelman is running,” Johnson said, via NoLa.com. “He’s probably one of the best at those choice routes, short-game routes. So we’ve talked a bit about it and we have something cooking coming up, so I’m really excited. The things that I want to continue to work on are obviously the pass blocking and the run blocking. Blocking is kind of the biggest thing. Also, just everything really. But more so the run game than the passing game.”

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