Baker Mayfield to start Bucs’ preseason opener Friday against Steelers

TAMPA, Fla. — Baker Mayfield is going first again.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft will start the Bucs’ preseason opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers Friday night at Raymond James Stadium, head coach Todd Bowles said after practice Wednesday at AdventHealth Training Center.

Bowles said Tuesday that Mayfield and Kyle Trask each would get a start in the first two preseason games. That means Trask will start against the New York Jets on Aug. 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

“(Mayfield) will start this week, Kyle will start next week, and we’ll kind of go from there,” Bowles said Wednesday.

Mayfield is in a competitive battle with Trask, the Bucs’ second-round pick in 2021 from Florida, for the starting quarterback job.

Bowles said there was no real reason behind giving Mayfield the first preseason start.

“Not really,” he said. “Just go until we switch them out (when it) happens to be their turn.”

Mayfield has thrown nine of the Bucs’ 15 interceptions in practice, but Trask had three Tuesday to give him five. Third-string quarterback John Wolford has thrown one.

Both quarterbacks have had their moments in training camp, but Trask has not had as much success connecting on passes down the field.

Wednesday’s practice was much cleaner. Trask connected twice for red-zone touchdowns to tight end Cade Otton, while Mayfield threw TD passes to Mike Evans and Dominique Dafney.

The biggest play was a deep ball from Wolford to rookie Kade Warner for a touchdown during a team period.

Bowles has said since the start of training camp he has an idea when he would like to name a starter. When offensive coordinator Dave Canales was the quarterbacks coach in Seattle a year ago, Geno Smith wasn’t named the starting quarterback over Drew Lock until after the Seahawks played their third preseason game.

“I thought we got a lot done, situationally,” Bowles said of Wednesday’s practice. “Obviously, in spiders (shoulder pads and helmets), I thought they withstood the heat. I think the cohesiveness is starting to come together. I’d just like to see it on Friday night.”

Tough decisions at outside linebacker

Preseason games have a way of helping coaches determine position battles. But perhaps nowhere is it more competitive than at outside linebacker.

Shaquil Barrett, Anthony Nelson, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and rookie YayYa Diaby would seem to be locks. But that means there is a tough decision to make between rookie Jose Ramirez and Cam Gill.

“All of them can play,” Bowles said. “That’s going to be the toughest one. We have some competition at other spots, but from top to bottom the outside linebacker room is probably the toughest one because all of these guys can play in this league.”

How many outside linebackers will the Bucs carry?

“I don’t know yet. We’ll see what the other positions bring,” Bowles said. “We’ll measure it against other positions and see who comes in the matter of importance, and we’ll go from there.”

Bring on the doubters

Cornerback Jamel Dean has been counted out before, when he suffered knee injuries early in his college career. So, the low expectations for the Bucs projected by national pundits only fuels him as the team begins the preseason.

“It’s definitely motivation,” Dean said. “I’ve always been a guy that feeds on doubt, because most of the time I’ve been doubted because of my knees. It’s always a good feeling when you prove people wrong. We know what’s going on out here, but other people ― since Tom (Brady) left ― feel like we’re (going) to just go down a slope. I’m looking forward to proving them wrong.”