The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will get a look at two intriguing quarterback candidates when rookie mini-camp kicks off on Friday, May 13, 2022. Tampa Bay had already been connected to Alabama A&M’s Aqeel Glass and have added former Panthers quarterback Peyton Ramsey to the mix as well, per The Athletic’s Greg Auman.
“In addition to Alabama A&M’s Aqeel Glass, the Bucs will have a second tryout QB at rookie minicamp this weekend: former Indiana & Northwestern QB Peyton Ramsey, who went undrafted last year and was briefly with the Panthers. Threw for 291, 3 TDs in Citrus Bowl win over Auburn,” Auman detailed on Twitter on May 11.
Ramsey was unable to find job security last season with the Panthers despite their need at quarterback. The situation with the Buccaneers is different as Tampa Bay continues to develop additional quarterbacks with an eye towards their eventual future without Tom Brady. With Blaine Gabbert, Kyle Trask and Ryan Griffin already on the roster, Ramsey faces an uphill battle to make the final roster, but it is worth keeping an eye on given Brady’s uncertain future with the team.
Ramsey spent his first three college seasons at Indiana throwing for 6,581 yards, 42 touchdowns and 23 interceptions while completing 66.5% of his passes during 31 appearances with the Hoosiers. The quarterback threw for 1,733 yards, 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions in nine appearances for Northwestern in 2020.
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Peyton Ramsey Drew Comparisons to NFL Journeyman Kevin Hogan
Ramsey went undrafted in 2021 before signing with the Panthers ahead of their rookie mini-camp. Coming out of Northwestern, The Athletic’s draft analyst Dane Brugler saw some similarities between Ramsey and NFL journeyman Kevin Hogan. After having a standout career at Stanford, Hogan has had stints with the Chiefs, Browns, Washington, Broncos, Bengals, Titans and Texans.
“Ramsey is a good-sized athlete who can scramble and handle designed runs,” Brugler wrote in his 2021 draft guide. “As a passer, he has adequate juice on his throws and understands where to attack, but his ball placement and decisions are spotty (threw too many interceptions). Overall, Ramsey is this year’s Kevin Hogan- a flawed passer, who offers the mobility, toughness and character that gives him a chance to earn an NFL roster spot.”
The Bucs Plan to Sit Trask for Another Season
The Buccaneers selected Trask in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft but the quarterback is unlikely to see the field this season. Bucs quarterback coach Clyde Christensen indicated that 2022 would be another developmental year for Trask with Gabbert once again expected to serve as Brady’s backup.
“Yeah, I think it’s more of a learning year, I don’t see him competing with [Blaine] Gabbert this year,” Christensen explained during a May 10 press conference. “Although, he could do it, just all the odds are stacked against you. You can’t rep everybody, you can’t get enough [reps]. It’s hard to get Gabbert enough reps, so we’ll prepare Gabbert as the No. 2. There’s always competition, right? There’s always someone looking for your job, but Gabbert will get [the reps].
“I don’t see that being an either-or, I see Gabbert being a backup, and Kyle being a developmental guy and we’ll rep ’em that way. And you know, if you jump off the screen and he outplays Brady, then he outplays Brady, and we’ll make some decisions, but when you go into it, you know the percentage chance of that happening isn’t very good. And we frankly can’t operate that way, you just don’t have enough reps to do that and get everyone prepared.”