Mike Evans makes demand to Tampa Bay Buccaneers over Tom Brady replacement

17 August 2023 , 18:25

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Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans has demanded to know who the team's starting quarterback will be (Image: Getty)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans wants to know "soon" who his starting quarterback will be in the 2023 season. The Bucs are ready to enter a new era by replacing the legendary Tom Brady after he retired for a second time earlier this year.

First overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, Baker Mayfield, 28, is facing significant competition from Kyle Trask during training camp, with both stating their case for control over the Buccaneers' offense. The contest is a lot closer than many expected, with favourite Mayfield at risk of missing out on a chance to revive his once-promising NFL career.

But with a decision on whether Mayfield or Trask will be Tampa Bay's quarterback yet to be made, it is leaving the rest of the team in the dark. So much so, that receiver Evans has issued a demand to the Buccaneers to make a decision with preseason nearing its conclusion to give them clarity.

“We want to know who the starter’s going to be, you know, soon,” Evans said after a joint practice with the New York Jets. “So we can just keep working and [the starting quarterback] can take control of the offense.”

The Buccaneers will play two more preseason games against the Jets, and the Baltimore Ravens, before traveling to Minnesota to take on the Vikings in Week One. And it's vital that the franchise's QB gets all of the practice reps with the first-team offense.

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"I’ve been in a lot of quarterback competitions in my football career and I think the main thing you can focus on is just playing the best that you can,” Trask said, via the team’s website. “There’s a lot of things that are out of your hands, in terms of the competition. It’s the same for me: stay focused on what I can do. I know it’s obviously cliché but it’s the truth — I’m just focused on getting our offense in the best play, the best checks that I possibly can.”

Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask are competing for the QB spot (Getty)

Mayfield said on the quarterback competition: "It’s great for everybody, to be honest with you. When the quarterback room is having success, it shows what this offense can be capable of. We’re distributors within this system – just getting the ball out, it’s not like we’re trying to hone in on one guy. Yeah, there will be specific plays where we want to get a guy open, but for right now it’s taking what the defense gives you.

“The past few days, yeah, Kyle [Trask] and John [Wolford] have had great practices of just doing that – going through the system, getting the ball out and making the reads.

"I think people are starting to see what we’re going to be capable of, and obviously, as we get used to pads more and more, the run game will get going as well. It’s just slowly coming together.”

Joshua Mbu