Former Florida quarterback and 2021 second-round NFL Draft pick Kyle Trask has been invited to try out for the New Orleans Saints during the team’s rookie minicamp this weekend, FOX Sports’ Greg Auman reported.
Trask has spent the 2026 offseason thus far unsigned after joining the Atlanta Falcons’ practice squad for a short stint in November. He had been released by his drafted team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, amid 53-man roster cutdowns last August.
Trask’s story with the Gators is one Florida fans will not soon forget.
A 247Sports two-star prospect out of Manvel (Texas) High School, where he operated as a backup to D’Eriq King for his final three years of prep ball, Trask signed with Florida in the 2016 recruiting class. He was the lowest-rated member of the Gators’ recruiting haul that cycle, and one of two quarterbacks to join the program, alongside four-star signal-caller Feleipe Franks.
Yet it quickly became apparent that former Gators head coach Jim McElwain and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier may have found a diamond in the recruiting rough, as he competed with Franks for the starting role in 2017 before suffering a season-ending injury, and played in relief of Franks amid the starter’s struggles under head coach Dan Mullen in 2018, before experiencing another year-concluding ailment.
The tides turned in 2019 when Franks went down with a season-ending ankle injury early in the season, leading Trask to take over the starting role. He never looked back.
Trask immediately emerged as one of the Southeastern Conference’s most efficient passers, completing 237-of-364 attempts (66.9 percent) for 2,941 yards with 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions over 12 appearances and 11 starts, leading Florida to an Orange Bowl appearance and victory over Virginia.
And that was only the beginning of Trask’s storied run with Florida.
Trask returned for his redshirt senior season with the Gators as the team’s undisputed starter in 2020, and finished the campaign as the FBS’s leader and UF’s single-season record holder in touchdown passes with 43, completing 301-of-437 throws (68.9 percent) for 4,283 yards, while tossing just eight interceptions.
Florida clinched an SEC Championship berth that season, and Trask completed 26-of-40 passes for 408 yards and three touchdowns against Alabama in that contest, although the Crimson Tide ultimately defeated the Gators in Atlanta, 52-46.
Still, Trask was named a Heisman Trophy finalist and earned Second-Team All-American and Second-Team All-SEC recognition for his play during his final season with Florida.
While starting for fewer than two full seasons, Trask ranks No. 6 all-time in program history with 69 passing touchdowns, and No. 8 in passing yards with 7,386.
Tampa Bay selected Trask with the final pick of the second round in the 2021 NFL Draft, at No. 64 overall, presumably to serve as the heir to Tom Brady, who, at 43 years old, was freshly removed from leading the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Trask ultimately served as Brady’s backup for two seasons, but did not win the starting job upon Brady’s retirement, with Tampa Bay turning to free agent signee Baker Mayfield as the Buccaneers’ next quarterback.
Trask appeared in seven games with the Buccaneers and completed 4-of-11 passes for 28 yards in that span. He did not take the field during his time with the Falcons.