Bucs Camp Insider 7-30: Highlight Catches, Turnovers Continue

The Bucks switched things up during Tuesday’s training camp practice, giving players extra rest time in the morning and afternoon before holding an overnight practice inside the AdventHealth Training Center’s indoor facility. The practice was open to crew members, creating a lively atmosphere as the team stepped up the intensity in its second padded session.

Per the schedule established before the start of camp, the Buccaneers will be off Wednesday before returning to practice Thursday morning.

Pewter Report’s Matt Matera, Bailey Adams, Josh Quaippo and Adam Slivon, along with rookie intern Isaiah Delgado, attended practice Tuesday night. Here are their thoughts:

Bucks not practicing

Running back Chase Edmonds missed his fifth consecutive practice and continued to watch on the sideline wearing a bucket hat, and undrafted free agent outside linebacker Shawn Peterson Jr. also missed Monday’s practice and was absent from Tuesday’s as well.

Several Buccaneers veterans had the day off on Tuesday night. Mike Evans and Lavonte David both watched practice from the sidelines. Training camp so far has followed a two-day practice, one-day rest schedule. Both players will have another day off on Wednesday, as the team doesn’t return to the practice field until Thursday morning.

David also coached Tampa Bay’s linebackers.

The Buccaneers had several injuries during practice on Tuesday.

Buccaneers offensive linemen Su’a Opeta and Ben Bredeson – Photo: Cliff Welch/PR

The Buccaneers got through the first five practices of training camp without any notable injuries, but one potential starter on offense and one surefire starter on defense exited Tuesday night’s practice with injuries.

First, left guard Su’a Opeta left the game with a slight limp. After practice, head coach Todd Bowles says We know it’s a knee issue for Opeta, but the extent of the injury is unknown. The former Philadelphia Eagle signed a one-year contract this offseason and is competing with fellow free agent Ben Bredeson for the starting left guard position, so everyone is hoping for some positive news on that front. With Wednesday being an off day, we probably won’t get a concrete answer from the Buccaneers on Opeta’s status until Thursday.

Safety Jordan Whitehead was one of the Buccaneers players injured Tuesday night, but he was hurt late in practice and there was no immediate update. He emerged limping on a play covering a deep pass and went straight to a trainer. More details will be available Thursday, first on whether he’ll be on the field with the team and then whether Bowles will speak to the media after practice.

Buccaneers offense and defense are hot

Buccaneers ILB KJ Britt – Photo: Cliff Welch/PR

The intensity increased When he put on the pads for practice on MondayBut things took it to another level on Tuesday night. On the first play of the 11-on-11 period, a shoving session broke out after the play, with right tackle Luke Goedeke predictably in the middle of it. Then, on the very next play, linebacker KJ Britt shoved left tackle Justin Skull after the play, eventually ripping his helmet off.

It took a few days, but on Tuesday night, Todd Bowles’ words rang true. Last Wednesday, the head coach said that if there were fights during camp, Britt would likely be in the middle of them.

“KJ’s been a leader ever since he’s been here,” Bowles said last week. “Even when he wasn’t the starter, he’s been a leader. He’s a natural leader. He’s very vocal, he’s probably the most talkative guy on the field. Hopefully, it doesn’t happen during camp, but if they start fighting, it’s probably going to be him, because he’s the one that does most of the talking about it. We’ve got to pay attention to that.”

Britt then continued to live up to his newfound reputation by getting into an altercation with wide receiver Trey Palmer. An old-fashioned, foul-mouthed linebacker.

“He’s always badmouthing people, especially Baker. [Mayfield]”It’s kind of funny,” Antoine Winfield Jr. said last week. “Even in the locker room, sometimes you can’t hear it, but it’s funny.”

Buccaneers defense wins 11-on-11 period on Tuesday

Every 11-on-11 period during practice Tuesday was a “call it” period, giving new offensive coordinator Liam Cohen the opportunity to call plays in real time, while co-defensive coordinator Casey Rogers called the defense, and for the most part, Rogers’ group was victorious that night.

Buccaneers DB Tavierre Thomas – Photo: Cliff Welch P/R

There were a few turnovers on the night and Tavier Thomas intercepted a Baker Mayfield pass. Thomas now has three interceptions in six practices. The first two came in 7-on-7 practice sessions last week and the third came in style at the indoor facility on Tuesday night.

Rashad Wisdom, an undrafted rookie safety out of UTSA, committed two big turnovers near the end of practice, first intercepting a pass from John Wolford and then setting a perfect screen to knock the ball away on the final play of practice. Fellow undrafted free agent Cullen DeLoach came to recover and capped a strong night for the defense.

Tampa Bay’s front office also put constant pressure on the quarterback, and Yaya Diaby had another impressive performance, recording one or two sacks throughout the team’s time in the game, and showing such strength late in one play that he threw tight end Payne Durham to the ground, knocking Durham’s helmet off in the process.

Rookie defensive back Tykee Smith nearly sacked Baker Mayfield after he held onto the ball a little too long, then Vita Via and Marquise Watts combined for sacks, and second-year outside linebacker Jose Ramirez also got in on the action with a sack.

Observations and highlights from Bucks Camp Day 6

Buccaneers WR Jalen McMillan – Photo: Cliff Welch/PR

Below are some quick observations from Tampa Bay’s sixth training camp practice.

• It wasn’t. all The defense got the win Tuesday night as rookie wide receivers Jalen McMillan and Kameron Johnson continued their strong starts to training camp, with McMillan completing a catch-and-run on an 11-on-11 play and then scoring a touchdown in the red zone period.
• Johnson continued to do his job when given the opportunity on kick return, even beating Bryce Hall one-on-one for a touchdown and then making some plays at 11-on-1. There seem to be some creative ways to use Johnson’s speed and agility on offense.
• Baker Mayfield also had an 11-on-11 situation, firing a pass to Cade Otton for a big gain and slipping through a tight gap to get a huge roar from the crowd.
• Sean Tucker had two consecutive strong practices, with a highlight coming when he found space on an 11-on-11 play and scored a touchdown from about 20 yards out.
• Rakim Jarrett made the highlight catch of the day, climbing a ladder and catching a Kyle Trask pass over a defender’s head in the corner of the end zone.
• There was one particular run play that the Tampa Bay defense sniffed out extremely well, with Logan Hall, Chris Braswell and Christian Izien all rallying together to completely thwart Tucker.
• Jamel Dean and Marcus Banks both had interceptions, keeping the Buccaneers defense from being plagued by turnovers.