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

The Bucs switched things up for Tuesday’s training camp practice, giving the players some extra time to rest throughout the morning and afternoon before a night practice inside the indoor facility at the AdventHealth Training Center. The practice was open to Krewe Members, which made for a lively atmosphere as the team ramped the intensity up with its second padded practice.

Keeping with the schedule set up before camp began, the Bucs are off Wednesday before returning to practice Thursday morning.

Pewter Report’s Matt Matera, Bailey Adams, Josh Queipo, Adam Slivon and new intern Isaiah Delgado were in attendance for Tuesday night’s practice. Here are their observations:

Bucs Who Were Not Practicing

Running back Chase Edmonds missed his fifth straight practice, continuing to watch on from the side in a bucket hat. Undrafted free agent outside linebacker Shaun Peterson Jr. also missed Tuesday’s practice after being sidelined for Monday’s practice as well.

A couple of Bucs veterans got scheduled days off on Tuesday night, with Mike Evans and Lavonte David both watching practice from the sideline. So far during training camp, it appears that they’re on a two on, one off schedule. Both guys will also get the benefit of another day off on Wednesday, as the team doesn’t return to the practice fields until Thursday morning.

David was also in the mix coaching up Tampa Bay’s linebackers.

#Bucs ILB Lavonte David in the middle helping coach up the room. pic.twitter.com/wwz0mf4OVR

— PewterReport 🏴‍☠️ (@PewterReport) July 30, 2024

A Couple Of Injuries Hit The Bucs During Tuesday’s Practice

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

First, it was left guard Sua Opeta who left with a bit of a limp. After practice, head coach Todd Bowles said he knows it was a knee issue for Opeta, but wasn’t sure what the extent of the injury was. The former Philadelphia Eagle was signed to a one-year deal this offseason and is locked in a battle with fellow free agent signee Ben Bredeson for the starting left guard job, so everyone will be hoping for positive news on that front. With the day off Wednesday, there’s unlikely to be any concrete answers from the Bucs regarding Opeta’s status until Thursday.

Safety Jordan Whitehead was another Buc who was banged up Tuesday night, but the injury occurred late in practice and there was no immediate update afterward. He came up limping on a play where he was in coverage on a deep ball, and he headed straight for a trainer. We’ll find out more Thursday, first if he’s on the field with the team and later when Bowles speaks with the media after practice.

Things Get Heated Between Bucs Offense And Defense

The intensity kicked up a notch when the pads came on for Monday’s practice, but things reached a different level Tuesday night. On the first play of the 11-on-11 period, there was some pushing and shoving after the play, with right tackle Luke Goedeke predictably right in the middle of it. Then, on the very next play, linebacker K.J. Britt shoved left tackle Justin Skule after the play and eventually ripped his helmet off.

It took a few days, but Todd Bowles’ words rang true Tuesday night. Last Wednesday, the head coach said if there was going to be a fight during camp, Britt would probably be in the middle of it.

“K.J. has been a leader since he’s been here,” Bowles said last week. “Even when he wasn’t starting, 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, I hope this never happens in camp, but if they get into a fight, I’m pretty sure it’s probably going to be him because he does most of the talking about it and we got to keep a good eye on that.”

Britt later jawed back and forth with wide receiver Trey Palmer, continuing to live up to his newly discovered reputation as an old-school, trash-talkin’ linebacker.

“He trash talks a lot, especially to Baker [Mayfield], which is kind of funny,” Antoine Winfield Jr. said last week. “Even in the locker room, some stuff you don’t hear but it’s funny.”

Bucs Defense Gets The Best Of Tuesday’s 11-On-11 Periods

All of the 11-on-11 periods during Tuesday’s practice were “call it” periods, giving new offensive coordinator Liam Coen a chance to call plays live. Meanwhile, it was co-defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers calling the defense, and it was Rodgers’ group that got the best of the night for the most part.

There were a few turnovers on the night, with Tavierre Thomas coming through with a pick-six on Baker Mayfield. Thomas now has three interceptions in six practices, with the first two coming last week during 7-on-7s and the third coming in grand fashion on Tuesday night in the indoor facility.

Rashad Wisdom, an undrafted rookie safety out of UTSA, had two big turnovers right near the end of practice. First, he intercepted John Wolford, then he perfectly played a screen on the final play of practice and knocked the ball loose. Fellow undrafted free agent Kalen DeLoach was there for the recovery, ending the night on a high note for the defense.

Tampa Bay’s front was constantly putting pressure on the quarterback, too, with yet another impressive performance by Yaya Diaby, who notched a sack or two during the full team period. He also showed off his strength near the end of one play when he threw tight end Payne Durham to the ground, with Durham’s helmet popping off in the process.

Rookie defensive back Tykee Smith had a would-be sack on Baker Mayfield after Mayfield held onto the ball a beat too long, and the duo of Vita Vea and Markees Watts later teamed up for a sack as well. Second-year outside linebacker Jose Ramirez also got in on the fun with a sack of his own.

Observations And Highlights From Day 6 Of Bucs Camp

Here are some quick-hitting observations from Tampa Bay’s sixth training camp practice:

• It wasn’t all defense on Tuesday night, as rookie wide receivers Jalen McMillan and Kameron Johnson continued their impressive starts to training camp. McMillan had a good catch-and-run on one play in 11-on-11s before later catching a touchdown in the red zone period.
• Johnson continued to look the part when given a chance to return kicks, plus he beat Bryce Hall in 1-on-1s for a touchdown and later made a few plays during 11-on-11s. There seems to be some creative avenues to use Johnson’s speed and shiftiness in the offense.
• Baker Mayfield fired a strike to Cade Otton for a sizable gain during 11-on-11s as well, threading a tight window to draw big cheers from the fans in attendance.
• Sean Tucker had a second good practice in a row, with one particular highlight coming on an 11-on-11 play where he found space and ran for a touchdown from about 20 yards out.
• Rakim Jarrett made the highlight catch of the day, climbing the ladder to bring in a Kyle Trask pass in the corner of the end zone over a defender.
• 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 stop Tucker dead in his tracks.
• Jamel Dean and Marcus Banks both dropped interceptions on the night, keeping it from being a turnover frenzy for the Bucs defense.