Report: Buccaneers' QB competition to go 'well into training camp'

ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler insists the Tampa Bay Buccaneers aren't yet close to naming veteran Baker Mayfield their starting quarterback over 2021 second-round draft pick Kyle Trask. 

"And this is a quarterback competition that could go well into training camp, I'm told; probably not an early decision because they want to see what both players can do in nearly every scenario," Fowler explained during a "SportsCenter" appearance, per Tyler Conway of Bleacher Report. 

While Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said during mandatory minicamp that he won't name a winner of the quarterback battle until "some time during camp or right after," a plethora of reporters have suggested Mayfield has the upper hand over Trask. Fowler said that Mayfield's experience "could really help him" to remain above Trask on the depth chart, but Fowler also pointed out that Trask "has overhauled his mechanics a little bit or at least tweaked them" and also displayed "some good accuracy at times in (organized team activities) and minicamp." 

Former Minnesota Vikings general manager and current CBS Sports contributor Rick Spielman noted earlier this month that Mayfield "was clearly the No. 1 quarterback" during practice. According to the JoeBucsFan website, Spielman offered more information during an appearance on the "With The First Pick" podcast.

"There’s no question that he is in command down there," Spielman said about Mayfield. "I mean, you can tell about his leadership, the way he walked around the field, the aura about him and the players, I think, believing in him...I was very impressed with the command he had of that offense and just the aura that he had walking around the building and that leadership. And I think he is definitely going to be the guy in Tampa after seeing that live." 

Both Mayfield and Trask should receive numerous opportunities to impress when Tampa Bay begins the preseason against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Aug. 11. Spielman, NFL Network personality David Carr and others continue to indicate the job is seemingly Mayfield's to lose rather than Trask's to win ahead of the regular-season opener at the Vikings on Sept. 10.