After an off day Wednesday, the Bucs were back to work at the AdventHealth Training Center Thursday morning for Day 7 of training camp. Under hot conditions with very little wind, Tampa Bay held a shorter practice. That was already the plan, but it was well timed considering the concerning injury that happened during the two-minute drill near the end of practice.

The Bucs will return to practice Friday morning and then have another on Saturday before their next off day on Sunday.

Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds, Bailey Adams and Josh Queipo were in attendance for Thursday’s practice. Here are their observations:

Yaya Diaby Carted Off The Field Near The End of Thursday’s Practice

Bucs HC Todd Bowles and OLB Yaya Diaby – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

It felt like your typical run-of-the-mill training camp practice for much of Thursday morning, but a big story emerged in the closing moments. As the Bucs were running their two-minute period, second-year outside linebacker Yaya Diaby went down with an injury and looked to be in serious pain. He stayed down on the field for a couple of minutes and appeared to be holding his ankle before a cart came out to take him inside.

Head coach Todd Bowles confirmed after practice that it’s an ankle injury for Diaby, but they don’t know the severity just yet and will wait until they can get some more tests run. Defensive lineman Logan Hall said after practice that he didn’t think the injury looked too bad, but Tampa Bay is certainly holding its collective breath as they await more information on the injury.

Shortly after practice, Pewter Report learned that the Bucs did NOT believe Diaby tore his Achilles and were hopeful that his X-rays would come back negative. Pewter Report later learned that the X-rays came back normal and the wait now comes down to an MRI later Thursday.

Good news on the Yaya Diaby injury front. It is believed that Diaby DID NOT tear his Achilles in his left ankle. #Bucs are hopeful that X-rays are negative and that it could just be an ankle sprain or a bone bruise.

Hopefully disaster has been avoided.

— PewterReport 🏴‍☠️ (@PewterReport) August 1, 2024

X-rays came back negative on #Bucs OLB Yaya Diaby’s injured left ankle. Now it’s on to the MRI later this afternoon.

The team is hoping it’s just an ankle sprain or a bone bruise, but no indication of a fracture, which is great news.

— PewterReport 🏴‍☠️ (@PewterReport) August 1, 2024

Diaby has been the Bucs’ best defender throughout training camp thus far, looking like a force off the edge even before the pads came on for Monday’s practice. His exceptional start to the preseason certainly continued through the first three days in pads, and now the team will have to hope they aren’t without him for a prolonged period of time.

Bucs Who Were Not Practicing

Bucs WR Kameron Johnson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Veteran running back Chase Edmonds missed practice once again, making it six in a row since he last suited up for camp. Undrafted rookie outside linebacker Shaun Peterson Jr. was also a non-participant again, while two new players were sidelined for Thursday’s practice. One was undrafted wide receiver Kameron Johnson, one of the stars of training camp to this point.

There was some concern about safety Jordan Whitehead after Tuesday night’s practice on the turf in the indoor facility. He came up limping after covering a deep ball and headed straight for a trainer. Predictably, he watched on from the sideline on Thursday.

After practice, Bowles said Whitehead has a sore quad and will be OK in a few days with some rest. It doesn’t feel like Tampa Bay needs to see much during camp and the preseason from the veteran safety, who returned to the team this offseason after two seasons with the Jets. So it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the team take some precaution as he works his way back.

Of course, left guard Sua Opeta went down with an injury Tuesday night and it was reported Wednesday that he has a torn ACL and will miss the season. Bowles spoke on the unfortunate news after Thursday’s practice as well.

Todd Bowles speaks on Sua Opeta’s injury, saying it’s unfortunate and that they were really looking forward to seeing more from him. pic.twitter.com/10QpuY2inm

— PewterReport 🏴‍☠️ (@PewterReport) August 1, 2024

Bucs Tight Ends Show Up Big During 11-on-11s

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and OC Liam Coen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

An early theme developed as the Bucs began their 11-on-11 period Thursday morning, with tight ends getting involved from the very first play.

Cade Otton caught a strike from Baker Mayfield near the sideline for an intermediate gain to open the period, then Payne Durham caught one from Mayfield a couple of plays later. Even as the second- and third-team offense got its reps in, the tight end position remained featured. Ko Kieft caught a short pass from Kyle Trask, getting separation right off the snap and making the catch near the sideline.

Durham then kept it going by catching a touchdown from Mayfield during red zone work, beating Tavierre Thomas, who has put together a good camp in his own right.

Otton later bounced back from a bad drop by beating Christian Izien over the middle and catching a pass from John Wolford, who got rid of the ball in the face of heavy pressure up the middle. The third-year tight end then made a great catch in traffic later in 11-on-11s before bringing in another one near the goal line during the two-minute drill to end practice. Mayfield threaded the needle perfectly as Otton, known for coming up big late in games, made the catch with a couple of defenders barreling down on him.

Observations And Highlights From Day 7 Of Bucs Camp

Bucs LT Tristan Wirfs and OC Liam Coen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

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

• Pro Bowl left tackle Tristan Wirfs, fresh off agreeing to terms with the Bucs on a new five-year, $140.63 million contract extension, was greeted at practice with hugs from general manager Jason Licht, head coach Todd Bowles and offensive coordinator Liam Coen.
• Rookie wide receiver Jalen McMillan made a smooth one-handed catch during the individual period early in practice.
• Undrafted rookie linebacker Kalen DeLoach continued to raise his stock on Thursday. The Florida State product had two would-be sacks during 11-on-11s, with the first coming against former Florida Gator Kyle Trask and the second coming on John Wolford.
• Jose Ramirez came up with a sack for the second straight practice as he looks to keep himself firmly in the mix at outside linebacker.
• Wolford threw another interception on Thursday, with veteran cornerback Bryce Hall picking off a pass intended for Cody Thompson in the red zone period.
• There were a couple of big hits from the Bucs defense during 11-on-11s, with one coming from K.J. Britt to force a DJ Williams drop and another coming from Christian Izien, who left Sterling Shepard a little shaken up as he walked away holding his hip/lower torso. Shepard later returned, so he appears to be OK. Cornerback Zyon McCollum also shoved Bucky Irving to the ground for no gain immediately after the rookie running back caught a pass in the flat.
• Shepard later renewed what has been a strong connection with Kyle Trask during camp, catching a beautiful throw down the seam from the fourth-year quarterback.
• Perhaps the highlight play of the day came late in 11-on-11s, with Baker Mayfield immediately recognizing a Cover 1 look that had Lavonte David covering Trey Palmer with no safety help. Mayfield unloaded a perfect deep ball, hitting Palmer for a touchdown.