The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in the market for a new backup quarterback for 2-time Pro Bowl pick Baker Mayfield. It’s a role they might have to fill in the 2025 NFL draft.
If the Buccaneers do get a backup quarterback in the draft, it’ll likely be in the later rounds. One player they could wind up landing on is actually only one year younger than longtime Tampa Bay backup Kyle Trask, who was a second round pick in 2021. That player is Louisville’s Tyler Shough, who played 7 seasons at 3 different Power Four schools and will turn 26 years old in September.
Shough had his best college season in 2024 with the Cardinals, throwing for 3,195 yards, 23 touchdowns and 6 interceptions in 12 games while completing 62.7 percent of his passes.
Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski put Shough on his list of the most underrated NFL prospects headed into the NFL Scouting Combine.
“He’s a 6’5″, 224-pound prospect, with the mobility to show he can create some space outside of structure,” Sobleski wrote on February 24. “More importantly, he has significant natural arm talent. He can make all of the throws … Furthermore, his extensive experience moving between programs can prove to be beneficial in the eyes of talent evaluators. Shough has been named the starter at multiple stops, having to learn and execute multiple systems under different staffs. It’s something that definitely played in the favor of Bo Nix last year.”
Shough’s Long and Winding Road to NFL Draft
That Shough is now being looked at as an NFL prospect after his college career is a study in how modern college football works in the era of rampant player movement.
Shough was the No. 10 ranked quarterback in the 247Sports national rankings coming out of Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona, for the Class of 2018 alongside 2021 NFL draft No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence and No. 11 overall pick Justin Fields — the top 2 ranked quarterbacks in Shough’s class.
Shough signed with Oregon and was the backup to Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert in 2019 and became the full time starter in 2020 before losses to Oregon State, California and Iowa State in the Fiesta Bowl led Shough to enter the transfer portal.
In 3 seasons at Texas Tech, Shough was named the starting quarterback each year but only played 15 games due to injuries, including suffering a broken collarbone in 2021 and a broken leg in 2023 — he went 5-0 in starts in 2022. Shough led Louisville to an 8-4 record in his one season but opted out of the Sun Bowl against Washington to prepare for the NFL draft.
Drafting Backup QB Costs Less Than Signing Free Agent
Besides Shough’s experience one benefit for drafting him for the Buccaneers that his salary number will be incredibly low to begin with and if he’s the right guy, could be the right backup solution for the remainder of Mayfield’s time in Tampa Bay — which could come to an end after the 2026 season.
Because the Buccaneers should be able to draft Shough anywhere from the fifth round through the seventh round, it means he’d be in line for a rookie contract similar to the one signed by New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler in 2024. Rattler was drafted in the fifth round (No. 150 overall) and signed a 4-year, $4.35 million contract.
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