Saturday’s Bucs training camp practice saw Tom Brady back in action after missing the two prior. That also meant the first time Brady was able to work with Chris Godwin in many, many months.

A Couple Of Bucs Back In, A Lot Of Veteran Players Out

Along with Brady, the other Bucs to make their return was safety Troy Warner and linebacker JoJo Ozougwu. Receiver Mike Evans was out of practice after suffering a hamstring injury on Friday. Veteran tight ends Cam Brate and Kyle Rudolph were given the day off. Receiver Breshad Perriman and running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn were out again.

Brady Returns To Practice With Mainly Backup Weapons

Bucs QB Tom Brady and OC Byron Leftwich – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The more things change, the more they stay the same. With Brady back under center at practice this morning, the offense was doing their best to stay up to speed with numerous absences. Evans, Rudolph, and Brate did not practice at all, while Godwin and Julio Jones continued to get up to speed and participated minimally after early positional drills. 

For the offense, this meant more reps for the receivers, many of whom are continuing to jockey for spots at the bottom of the roster. Acting as the No. 1 receiver today in scrimmage, Russell Gage stood out the most with six catches from Brady alone. Between one of them, Brady and Gage were seen discussing routes with their hands and looking like they have strong chemistry.

Right after that, Gage and Brady connected on a bubble screen play and overall had a solid morning together. Their budding connection could be the biggest dynamic in the Bucs’ offense this year and at least in the short-term with the other big-name wideouts not out there. 

Besides the play of Gage, no one really stood out on the receiving end of passes from the quarterbacks. Tyler Johnson made a few nice plays in the end zone towards the end of the morning, while Jaelon Darden and Deven Thompkins both made nice sideline catches and flashed their elusiveness. 

Fournette Gets The Bulk Of The Rushing Attempts

In the backfield, running back Leonard Fournette received more reps today than he has all camp, at one point getting five out of six touches both on the ground and on short routes. Fournette looks to be in solid shape and got the bulk of touches with Giovani Bernard, Rachaad White, and Kenjon Barner sprinkled in.

As camp rolls on, and with joint practices and the first preseason game upcoming, it will be interesting to see who exactly remains in the mix for repetitions. After practice today, head coach Todd Bowles stated that “we’ll plug and play to see guys we need to see” throughout the week.

Pass Rush Continues Dominance On Saturday

If there was one group today that stood out above the rest, it had to be the Bucs’ pass rushing group. Not only did the defense apply pressure but also batted down passes at the line of scrimmage. This was evident from some of the first snaps, as William Gholston on back-to-back reps deflected a pass at the line and had a would-be sack on Brady. 

Besides Gholston, Akiem Hicks made his presence felt, clogging the middle and on one play completely stuffing Bernard at the line. In his brief post-practice press conference, offensive guard Shaq Mason remarked that he “goes after it” a lot with Hicks in practice. Hicks, along with Vita Vea, are two variables that equate to edge rushers having an easier time getting after the quarterback. It should be noted as well that on the opposite side at left guard, Brandon Walton got the start with the first group. 

In particular, the defensive line created pressure on four straight plays, with Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Cam Gill, and Rakeem Nunez-Roches all forcing the quarterbacks to make hasty decisions leading to incompletions. 

LBs, DBs Create Heartbreak With Pass Break-Ups

Besides the D-line, the linebackers and defensive backs also made it tough for the offense to be productive. Of note, rookie cornerback Don Gardner looked great in coverage, breaking up three passes and forcing an incompletion on another. This continues a solid start to camp from Gardner, who also had an interception off of Ryan Griffin yesterday. While the preseason will be a better determinate of the play of Gardner, an undrafted free agent from South Dakota State, he has done nothing to hurt his case for being a backup cornerback. 

But the biggest defensive play today came from a linebacker when Lavonte David picked off a pass from Tom Brady. David cut off a route and made a nice play on the ball, displaying the needed savviness Bowles wants to see on that side of the ball. 

“[We’re] trying to make turnovers happen,” Bowles stated after practice. Tampa Bay has the ball-hungry personnel to lead the league in that category, but execution will be key in the coming weeks.

Huge Day For Rookie ILB Fatukasi

Bucs ILB Olakunle Fatukasi – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Out of all the plays made by the Bucs’ defense, it was undrafted rookie linebacker Olakunle Fatukasi that stood out the most. Fatukasi had two turnovers in practice. One interception came as a defensive lineman tipped Kyle Trask’s throw. The ball traveled about 10 yards and went into Fatukasi’s hands.

For the other play, a ball was caught by Barner, but Fatukasi was there to jar the ball loose for a fumble. That’s two splash plays for Fatukasi in different periods. The Bucs have most of their linebacker room set with David, White, K.J. Britt and Grant Stuard, but if the Bucs decide to keep five, he’ll be in competition with J.J. Russell.

Brady, Young TEs Can’t Find Chemistry Together

Bucs TE Cade Otton – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

With Brate and Rudolph out, it gave Brady time to work with rookies Cade Otton, Ko Kieft and J.J. Howland. The results were not not up to par, though as the communication was off all day. There were times in warmups running on air when Brady and Otton weren’t on the same page. That continued in drills where Brady and Otton couldn’t connect for a pass completion.

On another play, Howland completely ran in the opposite direction of where Brady was throwing to and expected to him to be. We don’t know who was at fault but we’re talking about a 23-year veteran versus a rookie. Brady did connect on a short pass to Kieft, but it’s obvious that this trio has a lot of work to do.

Gabbert & Trask Update

Blaine Gabbert was his steady self as usual. He looked comfortable in the pocket and didn’t turn the ball over. It feels like he’s easing more into a groove after getting in the ebb and flows of practice. Gabbert also appears to have a strong hold on the No. 2 QB job for now.

Trask, on the other hand, continues to struggle. He had multiple passes tipped at the line of scrimmage and when he was actually getting them off, they weren’t accurate. Trask had a short throw of less than 15 yards that he hit into the ground before it got the receiver. He just never looked comfortable and held onto the ball way too much.

Is it over for him? No. There’s a lot more practices and games still to play. He rallied as well towards the end of practice, going on a run of multiple completions in a row. Trask needs to continue that moving ahead before joint practices begin.

Succop Was Good, But Not Perfect

It was Ryan Succop’s turn to kick on Saturday and he performed quite well. He hit 10-of-11 kicks and was even good from deep, connecting on his kicks from over 50 yards out. Oddly enough, the lone kick that he did miss was from a short distance of 38 yards away.

The Bucs did some hurry-up, last-second situations where the field goal team had to run on and set up before the clock ran out. Succop hit all of those kicks. This competition would be nearly decided until after the last preseason game.

Even though practice looked liked it was in favor of the defense, Todd Bowles enjoyed this one more than the day before.

“[A] lot better effort on both sides than yesterday,” Bowles said. “Yesterday was a little one-sided – today was more give and take.”

Tampa Bay has another practice this weekend that will take place on Sunday morning. Given that Brady was out for two practices this week, it would appear likely he’ll practice again. We’ll see who may come back how much further activity that Godwin will get involved in.

– Adam Slivon contributed to this report