Inside Bucs Camp 7-30: Big Plays Cap Off First Week

Saturday morning marked the last day of practice for the first week of Bucs training camp. Under sunny skies and hot conditions with temperatures in the low 90s, the Bucs wrapped up practicing in shorts, jerseys and helmets. Tampa Bay will be practicing in full pads on Monday after having Sunday off.

Bucs Not Practicing

Several players had a veteran day off, including left tackle Donovan Smith, wide receiver Julio Jones, defensive tackle Akiem Hicks and tight end Kyle Rudolph. Wide receiver Chris Godwin was held out of practice again, and linebacker Grant Stuard missed practice due to injury.

Big Plays Cap Off Week 1

Several Bucs players made big plays during Saturday’s practice – on both sides of the ball. Third-string safety Nolan Turner, a rookie from Clemson, made two big plays in the passing game. He nearly had an interception on Kyle Trask, who put too much air under the ball on a deep pass to a wide open Kaylon Geiger. Turner leaped up to prevent the catch, but couldn’t haul in the INT.

“Yet to be determined whether we carry a fifth safety or not – depends on how they play on [special] teams, how they come along [and] if we trust them [to be] doing the right things,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said. “But it’s a good competition. Nolan is very smart, Troy [Warner] is very smart and had a year in the system. Once the pads come on and the preseason games start, that probably will work itself out.”

Turner redeemed himself later in practice in the red zone period. He got revenge on Trask, stepping in front of an out route for a would-be pick-six.

Trask wouldn’t be the only one to throw a potential pick-six in the red zone. Linebacker Lavonte David jumped in front of Tyler Johnson near the goal line for an INT on Tom Brady, and then raced down the sidelines until the whistle blew.

But it wasn’t just the defense making plays. Saturday’s practice was balanced, with the offense also dialing up some big plays of its own in the passing game. Wide receiver Russell Gage was the featured target on Saturday, with he and Brady connecting on several passes downfield. His best catch was a touchdown in the back corner of the end zone over rookie cornerback Kyler McMichael.

Trask also turned in a big touchdown, finding a wide open Kameron Brown down the middle of the field on a busted coverage. That pass play covered roughly 60 yards, with Brown turning on the jets to outrace a few defenders to the end zone.

“He’s playing more confident,” Bowles said of Trask. “The more reps he gets the more comfortable he gets in the scheme and he’s very decisive of where he needs to go with the football.”

Tampa Bay’s O-Line Shuffle

Left tackle Donovan Smith got a veteran day off on Saturday. That meant Josh Wells got the start in place of Smith. But one new wrinkle was Fred Johnson getting some work on the left side, too. Johnson, a newcomer, has primarily been a backup at right tackle behind Tristan Wirfs. But Dylan Cook handled those duties on Saturday. At 6-foot-7, 326 pounds, Johnson is the most physically imposing lineman on the team behind Wirfs.

Brandon Walton, a first-year player out of Florida Atlantic who spent some time on the practice squad last year, started at left guard for the second straight day. At 6-foot-5, 300 pounds, Walton is lean, but packs a punch and is quite athletic.

“It’s wide open,” Bowles said of Walton. “He’ll have a shot at it as well as everybody else.”

Rookie Luke Goedeke continued to back up at left guard, while Aaron Stinnie is now backing up right guard Shaq Mason.

Nick Leverett opened up camp as the backup right guard, but now is seeing time exclusively as the backup at center behind Robert Hainsey. John Molchon is getting third-team center reps.

First Few Bad Snaps

Saturday marked the first time this camp that Hainsey has snapped the ball to Brady. To Hainsey’s credit, he was nearly flawless with his snaps. Hainsey only had one errant shotgun snap that went over Brady’s head during practice.

While Leverett didn’t have any bad snaps, Molchon had a low one to Trask that forced the quarterback to reach down for the ball. That threw the timing off the play, so Trask took off up the middle of the field for a 20-yard scramble. He stumbled at the end of his run and fell into a perfectly executed somersault, which caused the crowd to erupt in applause.

Bowles was non-committal when asked if the Bucs are sure they will stay in-house for a replace for Ryan Jensen.

“We’re not sure of anything yet. We’ve been in shorts and t-shirts,” Bowles said. “That will work itself out as training camp goes, and depending on how that works out, we’ll see if we go outside of the house or not.”

Bucs Start Full Pads On Monday

Overall, Bowles was pleased with the first week of practice from a mental standpoint.

“The mental part was very good,” Bowles said. “You’re going to get heavy legs the third and fourth days until they can get used to the heat. I think those guys are attentive, they’re hustling and the communication has been good.”

Bowles acknowledged that things change when the pads come in camp.

“Well, a lot of supposed sacks may not get there, and a lot of supposed runs may not get there,” Bowles said. “We’ll see what comes of what. We’re trying to make each other better and get ready for the season. We understand we’re on the same team. We want heavy competition, but we want to play smart and figure things out.”