Pewter Report’s Bucs Camp Diary, a popular training camp feature on PewterReport.com, returns in 2024. We are excited to introduce two very intriguing players: veteran outside linebacker Markees Watts and rookie running back Bucky Irving, the Bucs’ fourth-round pick.
Watts was the fifth-best outside linebacker on the deep bench last year and is not guaranteed a roster spot in 2024, but he has the talent to rejoin the team and should skyrocket up the depth chart with a strong camp and preseason.
Irving will walk readers through his rookie experience in Tampa Bay’s first training camp under coach Liam Cohen’s new offensive line. A small, agile, tackle-evading runner/receiver, he is expected to earn carries and playing time based on his performance in camp and preseason as the backup to Rachad White.
Check back each week throughout training camp and the preseason for camp diaries for Watts and Irving.
Marquise Watts was an undrafted free agent who was Charlotte’s all-time leading sack pick. He made the team last year after recording one sack, one forced fumble and a team-high nine pressures in the preseason. He led the team as a situational pass rusher last year with a 23% pass rush win rate and has been one of the most crowded and competitive outside linebackers in training camp.
Watts this summer, Pewter Report Podcast And during the interview, he gave Buccaneers fans some great insight.
This year will definitely be stronger.
By Marcus Watts, speaking to Scott Reynolds
Buccaneers OLB Marquise Watts – Photo: Cliff Welch/PR
Training camp has started. In camp, I have to show my growth. And I have to pick up where I left off last season, not where I started. The worst thing I can do is repeat the same mistakes I made last year and not show my offseason growth and become a better player. I’m going to show that growth. That’s the most important part to me. If I go to camp and don’t show my growth, I’ll be disappointed in myself and essentially cede my position to someone else.
The thing I focused on the most this offseason was getting in shape. I gained weight. This time last year, I was about 235 pounds. Now I’m at 245-250 pounds. Even though I’m heavier and I’m running around, I can’t run the same way I used to. I gained weight, so I was like, “Oh man, I need to get in shape and get used to this weight.” So I really focused on running.
The biggest weight I’ve gained is in my upper body. My thighs and calves have always been thick, but the changes in my upper body and the difference in the power I feel have been huge. I’ve definitely gotten stronger heading into this year’s camp.
Marquise Watts respects Shaq Barrett and wants to keep the No. 58 shirt
Buccaneers OLB Shaq Barrett – Photo: Cliff Welch/PR
It was a different experience for me coming here last year and seeing the guys form a brotherhood and fight for the same goal, the same spot with their teammates. There are some guys like Shaq Barrett who are so far along in their own path that it looks like they’re in the same place at the same time, but everyone’s situation can be completely different.
It means a lot to me to see him retire and be with his family after having so much success in the game and having so much fun. He’s ready to try new things and I’m excited to watch him grow. I love seeing guys like him succeed. I’ll definitely miss him. I texted him and told him I love him and thanked him. He taught me so much.
The main lesson I learned from Shaq is his attitude towards the game. I am a high pressure guy. When it comes to ME (mental errors), I take everything very seriously. ME makes me angry and frustrated. ME makes me more aggressive on the next play, but sometimes when it comes to ME, I can be unforgiving towards myself.
If Shaq made any mistake — and he didn’t make a lot of mistakes — he would stay calm, cool, collected, and correct it. And he made a great play. And I was like, ‘OK, that’s how I’m going to play the game from now on.’ And him giving me little tidbits of wisdom and everything we talked about, having him around was a big plus.
I feel an obligation to uphold his number 58. This is my second year wearing it, but I have to keep that reputation going. I want to be a part of something special that’s already started and continue like him. It’s enough to see someone who started in the same spot as me in the draft and came in as an undrafted free agent build a very successful career by working hard, putting in the work, honing their talent and taking advantage of it when the opportunity arises. He did that and was very successful and that was evident throughout his career. He definitely inspires me.
Who will replace Shaq Barrett as leader of the OLB room?
Buccaneers OLB Marquise Watts in Charlotte – Photo courtesy of USA Today
Now that Shaq is gone, it will be interesting to see who emerges as our leader. [outside linebackers] The room. That’s going to show up at camp. I know I want to be that kind of person that comes out of the room, but at camp it’s just words. I was in a similar situation in college, and they asked me, “Who’s going to be the leader of our room?” and I was like, “It has to be me.”
But in the first two games, I didn’t perform the way I wanted to. I didn’t get the results I wanted. It started to crumble in my mind, so this time I want to be sure that I do my job first before I speak. And I want to see everyone else do their job. That will be evident in camp.
“In camp, I’m going to emphasize my agility and my ability to fly around and do different things. I’m confident in my ability to drop in coverage, rush the pass, make the run and do all of those things. I’m just going to work on my technique and what I know works. When the season comes, if I keep honing my skills and keep working at it, it’ll feel like the most natural thing in the world.”
Marquise Watts was excited to make the team last year and is hoping to experience that feeling again.
Buccaneers OLB Marquise Watts – Photo: Cliff Welch/PR
My roommate last year was CJ Brewer, who is also a defensive tackle. Just having a roommate last year was a big experience for me because I was rooming with someone I was competing with all day. We don’t play the same position. He’s a defensive tackle. But we’re both trying to get on the team, and there aren’t many seats available. So we’re rooming with someone we don’t know at all, competing with them.
His dreams sometimes conflict with yours, but he becomes one of your best friends. He becomes a boy, he becomes a brother, but your dreams still conflict. It’s kind of wild. You both help each other out, and it feels really weird the first time you go through it, but you both know what you want and you go after it.
I remember the last day of camp, it was a day when the members were replaced. On that day, it doesn’t matter if the member is good or bad, the member gets a call. So we just sat quietly all day. It was too stressful to watch TV, so I just sat quietly and prayed that the phone wouldn’t ring. It was uncomfortable for me because I was happy and a smile came to my face and I couldn’t contain it. I was laughing, but I didn’t want to laugh because I wanted to make sure it was really happening. The smile and grin that I couldn’t contain wouldn’t go away. It was bittersweet because I was on the same floor of the hotel with some of my buddies and I heard the door open after they got a call and left. It was bittersweet because it was hard not to get a call. I don’t want to get a call this year either.
Marquise Watts’ message to Buccaneers fans
Since I came to Tampa, I’ve met a lot of Bucks fans and introduced myself to them, and they’ve come up to me and introduced themselves to me. Over the past two years, the fans have told me, “Just stay and do what you want to do, and we’ll support you.”
I want to make you all proud and I don’t want to let you down. At the end of the day, we are strangers to a certain extent, but I don’t want to let you down as Buccaneers fans because of the love and support you’ve given me and us.
And I wouldn’t.
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