The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took quarterback Kyle Trask in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft but general manager Jason Licht clarified that fans have nothing to worry about the future of Tom Brady with the team. The 43-year-old Brady is expected to start for two more years with the Buccaneers after he signed a four-year contract extension that is essentially a one-year contract extension to remain in Tampa Bay. The deal would allow Brady to fulfill his goal of playing until he’s 45 years old. But Licht said Brady assumed the starting role as long as he wants after leading the Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl since 2002.

“Tom’s gonna play as long as Tom wants to play. He’s earned that right,” Licht said, per a report by Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. The general manager expects Brady to help groom Trask as his potential heir apparent, saying he expects the process to go smoothly. The general manager called Brady as the ultimate team guy and he's not worried about anyone taking his starting role with the Buccaneers. According to Licht, he had some conversations with Brady in the past weeks regarding the possibility where the team could select a signal-caller in the 2021 NFL Draft and the veteran signal-caller understood the situation. As of now, only Brady and backup Ryan Griffin are the quarterbacks under contract with the Buccaneers.

Since he assumed the team’s personnel decisions in 2014, Licht took only one quarterback from the Draft, selecting Jameis Winston with the No. 1 overall choice in 2015.

Bucs wanted to use first round pick on Trask

The Buccaneers planned on using their 32nd overall pick to take Trask in the first round but they opted to take University of Washington pass rusher Joe Tryon, per Luke Easterling of USA Today.

With Trask still available in the second round, the Buccaneers did not think twice in using the 64th overall choice on the former Florida signal-caller. “We did our homework,” head coach Bruce Arians said, describing Trask as an accurate, smart and tough quarterback. The veteran head coach compared Trask to former Buccaneers quarterback Brad Johnson, who led the team to their first Super Bowl in 2002.

Trask excited to learn from Brady

Per report by Zach Abolverdi of Gator Sports, Trask said he’s excited for the opportunity to join the Buccaneers and learn from Brady, the greatest of all time (GOAT). “So to have that opportunity to learn a lot of knowledge from one of the greats is a great opportunity for me,” said Trask, who threw for 7,386 yards and 69 touchdowns with 15 interceptions in his three years with the Gators. In his final season, Trask threw for 4,283 yards and 43 touchdowns with eight interceptions, enabling him to become a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.