Competition to replace Brady will extend into Bucs’ training camp

TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers aren’t in a rush to declare a winner in the competition for Tom Brady’s old job.

While 2018 No. 1 overall draft pick Baker Mayfield and inexperienced third-year pro Kyle Trask continue to make strides in learning a new offense being installed this offseason, coach Todd Bowles says he won’t announce a starting quarterback before training camp begins late next month.

“Some time during camp or right after there will be a decision made,” Bowles said during the team’s mandatory minicamp this week.

“It’s still a competition right now. We’re not going to award (anybody) in shorts and T-shirts,” Bowles added. “In any competition, there’s waiting involved. You have to see who wins.”

Mayfield, the first pick in the 2018 draft by the Cleveland Browns, is with his fourth team in six seasons after signing a one-year contract that could be worth up to $8.5 million. The 28-year-old is 31-38 as a NFL starter, including 2-8 with the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams in 2022.

Trask was a second-round pick of the Bucs in 2021 and spent the past two years as the third-stringer behind Brady and Blaine Gabbert. He made his regular-season debut last January, competing 3 of 9 passes for 23 yards against Atlanta in a Week 18 loss that had no bearing on the NFC South standings or Tampa Bay’s playoff seeding.

“Tom is just a pro through and through, so that was such a blessing for me to come into a quarterback room filled with him, Blaine and Ryan (Griffin),” said Trask, a Heisman Trophy finalist at Florida who was drafted two months after Brady led the Bucs to the second Super Bowl title in franchise history.

“They had all the experience in the world,” Trask added, “so just to come into that room and just try to soak up as much knowledge while I was in there, that is a priceless experience for me.”

Brady retired for the second — and what the seven-time Super Bowl winner insists is the last — time in February.

Homer Jones, one of the most prolific wide receivers in New York Giants history and believed to be the first player to spike a football after a touchdown, has died. He was 82.

The Giants acknowledged the death, saying his daughter, Lacarroll Jones Nickelberry, confirmed it to KLTV in Pittsburg, Texas, where Jones was born and lived. His daughter said he died Wednesday following a battle with lung cancer.

In six seasons with the Giants, Jones caught 214 passes for 4,835 yards and 35 touchdowns.

Jones played a final season with the Cleveland Browns in 1970 and finished his career with 224 receptions for 4,986 yards, a 22.26-yard average that remains the highest in NFL history for receivers with at least 200 catches.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett enters his second year in the NFL looking to close the gap between himself and the league’s elite.

Pickett put together a solid season as a rookie in 2022. He went 7-5 as a starter and seemed to get better as the season went on.

The next step for Pickett and the Steelers is putting together an offense that can score more frequently. Pittsburgh ranked 26th in points scored last season.

Pickett said the team now has the personnel in place to match the top offensives i the league, particularly Kansas City, Cincinnati and Buffalo.

“We have everything in place,” Pickett said. “If we go execute we will be able to go shot for shot with those guys. And that’s the goal. Those teams that are playing deep into (the playoffs), they have that and that’s what we need to get to.”

The Kansas City Chiefs have certainly enjoyed the spoils of their latest Super Bowl triumph during a busy offseason.

Patrick Mahomes went to the Kentucky Derby, flew to the Formula One race in Miami the next day, and was on the red carpet for the Met Gala.

Travis Kelce took a moment from producing his successful podcast with his brother, Jason, to host “Saturday Night Live.”

And the whole team recently went to the White House for a meeting with President Joe Biden.

The Chiefs wrapped up their mandatory offseason minicamp Thursday, and now they have about a month off before training camp ushers in their title defense.

Kirk Cousins has been taking on more leadership and team-building with the Minnesota Vikings this year. He organized a jersey-wearing contest at minicamp this week and has taken small groups of teammates out to dinner this offseason.

The Vikings lost a lot of leadership in the jettisoning of longtime standouts Dalvin Cook, Eric Kendricks and Adam Thielen.

Cousins would naturally gravitate to this in his sixth season with Minnesota while playing the most important position. What’s notable about his team-building efforts is the fact that his contract was not extended this offseason.

The Denver Broncos wrapped up their first offseason program under head coach Sean Payton in relative isolation Thursday about 20 miles south of the Nuggets’ championship celebration that drew tens of thousands of revelers downtown.

Rejecting the “field day” finishes that some of his predecessors preferred, Payton ran a spirited indoor practice before dismissing his players for their five-week summer break.

“Definitely seeing another team in the same city win it all” is an inspiration, veteran safety Kareem Jackson said. “Those guys had a great year. It’s definitely encouraging for us. We definitely want to do the same thing.”

Denver is the only city that’s celebrated an NBA, NHL and NFL champion since 2015, although the Broncos haven’t made the playoffs since winning Super Bowl 50 seven years ago.

Taysom Hill said Saints coaches have worked to tailor his practice time so it’s more in line with his uniquely dynamic role.

Last season was the first in which Hill was no longer listed as a quarterback on the Saints’ roster. He was switched to tight end and that remains his listed position. But Hill contributed more last season on QB runs and as a passer than in the receiving game.

Hill said Saints coaches were able to study his full body of work last season and are now trying to ensure his practice snaps and position group meetings more closely reflect his usage.