Kyle Trask's time with the Bucs might be ending and Gator fans are furious

Kyle Trask's days with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could be numbered.

The former Gator and  fifth-year pro signed a one-year deal to remain with Tampa Bay as a backup to Baker Mayfield, but things in the NFL are never guaranteed. And when the Bucs decided to bring in Teddy Bridgewater, it was with designs of him being more than simply an additional arm in camp.

Bridgewater started Saturday's preseason game against the Steelers as Bucs coach Todd Bowles wanted to see him with some of the Bucs first-team offense. The former Louisville standout threw two touchdown passes in the first quarter against a Pittsburgh defense of mostly backups. 

Then the recently dismissed Miami Northwestern football coach gave way to Trask. And Trask seemed to freeze in the moment. He went 3-of-10 for 19 yards and took a bad sack before giving way to Connor Bazeiak in the second half.

Overall, it wasn't a good night for Trask. It was a far cry from his strong performance in the Bucs' preseason opener last week, and now the door is opened for a competition for QB2. 

Fans react to the Trask disrespect: "It's disgusting"

This is likely Trask's final season with the Bucs and the preseason was going to be his opportunity to put enough good plays on film to help him find a situation where he could compete for a starting role. But things quickly changed and now Trask is being asked to prove that he can be trusted to be the Bucs' primary backup.

Make no question about it, the Bucs brought Bridgewater in to push Trask. They know that Bridgewater is young enough (32) to still play in the NFL at a capable level, and he has enough experience to jump into a regular season game if Mayfield gets hurt. That's what the NFL is all about - competition. If the Bucs staff believed Trask was too comfortable in his role, they were going to test him.

But Gator fans aren't thrilled by this and many believe Trask has earned more respect than what he is being shown by Todd Bowles and staff.

Preseason finale sets up as a 'loser leaves town' match

It's highly likely Mayfield will not play in the Bucs' preseason finale against the Bills. There currently hasn't been an announcement on which quarterback will start the game Saturday, but even Ray Charles can see that this game will play a big role in who wins the Bucs backup job. 

Whoever wins the backup job will stay, and the other will eventually be cut or traded for some level of compensation before the cut-day deadline on August 27. The general belief is that Bridgewater is the guy, and his experience in the league is too much to pass up. 

If that's the case, Trask might not be able to do enough this week to stay in Tampa, but he could do enough to make himself appealing to another team. And a change of scenery might be what he needs.