TAMPA, Fla. — For Tampa Bay's new offensive coordinator, building a quarterback-friendly system is one of the main priorities on his to-do list.
Dave Canales only has one quarterback on the current Buccaneers roster — Kyle Trask.
Trask was drafted in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and Canales spoke highly of the former Florida Gator and how he plans to develop his game during his first media availability on Wednesday at One Buc Place.
"The thing that we’re going to help Kyle continue to build on here is to just be a point guard," Canales said. "Point guards don’t have to be the one to score all the points – you just distribute. Play on time, get the ball out of your hands, life is better that way when you do that.
"You’ve got these bears chasing you and if you don’t like bears chasing you, get rid of the ham – and that’s the football, right? So just teaching him those principles, allowing him to be a distributor."
The former Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks coach also said that building a system that doesn't put a player in the pocket in harm's way often will be critical in continuing Trask's development.
"[We're going to teach him on] drilling that timing of getting the ball out and then having the balance of the run game," Canales said. "We are always trying to look for a way to put the quarterback in his comfort zone and build from there.”
A system where the quarterback will need to be part of the run game is something Canales will look to install into his offense as well.
"He's plenty athletic enough," Canales said. "He's got short-space quickness. If you guys remember, his Florida tape, the protection wasn't always great. And he just had a really gritty, savvy way of moving in tight spaces to get the ball gone to his players.
"So, he's got plenty of athleticism to run our system."
Despite showing praise for Trask, Canales declined to confirm that his plans for the Bucs' offense next season will solely revolve around the former Gator.
"The system... handles any real type of quarterback," Canales said. "It's not so much that we're going to build it through Kyle. It's the marriage of the run and pass and it's the attacking style that we're going to be in and out of tempos and multiple.
"So that part, really, you plug and play your talent. The plays become the plays but it's the system that is flexible."
If Canales prefers to go with another quarterback next season, there are options that Tampa Bay can consider in free agency and this year's draft — assuming that the team resolves their issue of being projected to be $55 million over the salary cap.
The 41-year-old also talked about what kind of roles fans can expect to see star wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin operate in.
"Moving the receivers to gain access – you can release easier if you move your receivers around, so we have a simple system that allows us to be able to do that, to give [Evans and Godwin] access into the secondary," Canales said. "When you get a big sucker like those guys with a free run, where they're not having to face press all the time – and they're both magnificent versus press, that's the cool part.
"We definitely use our receivers in the run game, so having two big guys who can do that is awesome. Russell [Gage Jr.] is fantastic in there, too. He's really tough. So that's another guy we'll be able to use."
Another player that Canales is looking forward to working within the run game is running back Rachaad White, who had a breakout rookie season even though he served as the Bucs' No. 2 in that position.
"What shocked me about him was the toughness in the style that he ran because I saw him as this versatile guy who you could run routes with him out of the backfield, split him out wide and do some things like that, plus the run game," Canales said. "But then you see his attitude in person in Germany, just see the style that he ran downhill, he was aggressive, the violence that he played with and you go, 'Wow, this guy could be special.'
"He's got some great skillset that really fits into our system."
Canales was officially announced as Tampa Bay's new offensive coordinator on Feb. 16.
He was with Seattle for 13 seasons as he worked under head coach Pete Carroll's staff. During that time, he worked with Russell Wilson and this season's Comeback Player of the Year Geno Smith.
Canales was part of the Seahawks coaching staff that thrashed the Denver Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl XXVII and lost to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX.
This is the first time that he'll be the offensive coordinator of an NFL team.
Canales' hire comes after the Bucs fired former offense coordinator Byron Leftwich following the team's Wild Card loss to the Dallas Cowboys and an 8-9 regular season.