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After four days of practice in shorts, jerseys and helmets, the Bucs were finally in full pads for Monday morning’s practice at the AdventHealth Training Center. Following a Sunday that saw record-high temperatures as Tampa hit 100 degrees for the first time ever, it was another scorching hot day on Monday with no breeze at all.

The morning started on a tough note for Tampa Bay, as Pewter Report broke the news that rookie outside linebacker David Walker tore his ACL in Friday’s practice and will have season-ending surgery, cutting his first NFL season short after just three practices.

Elsewhere on the injury front, DJ Williams, Marcus Banks, Kameron Johnson and Cade Otton remained out of practice. Head coach Todd Bowles said a few guys have pulled their hamstrings, so he’s being cautious and holding them out for now.

Tampa Bay held Monday’s practice in front of family and friends at One Buc Place ahead of Tuesday’s night practice in the indoor practice facility, a practice that will be open to Krewe Members.

Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds, Matt Matera, Bailey Adams and Adam Slivon were in attendance for Monday’s practice, as well as post-practice press conferences with Bowles, defensive linemen Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey and rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka. Here are the Pewter Reporters’ observations and takeaways from Monday morning at One Buc Place.

Baker Mayfield, Bucs Offense Sluggish On Team’s First Day In Pads

Monday’s practice was a rough one for Baker Mayfield and the Bucs offense. It’s not that there were turnovers galore, as Mayfield once again got through the day without throwing an interception in the full team periods. But the offense generally looked sloppy and sluggish, with plenty of misfires not just from Mayfield but from Kyle Trask and Connor Bazelak as well.

On that front, the 11-on-11 period started ominously as Logan Hall put in a good rush on Mayfield while Vita Vea knocked center Graham Barton into his quarterback to cause a fumble. Mike Greene had two early tackles for loss as well, while Jose Ramirez beat Charlie Heck on a later rep. Barton’s tough day continued later as Logan Hall took his turn at knocking the second-year center to the ground.

Bucs DT Mike Greene – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

When it came time for the call-it period, which featured first-time play-caller Josh Grizzard calling the offense against the Buccaneers defense, Mayfield couldn’t connect on two deep shots down the field. The offense was limited to hitting some easy screens and shorter stuff in the passing game, with very little in the way of explosive plays.

And late in practice when the team went to the two-minute period, the offense couldn’t get much of anything going. The first-team offense failed to get a snap off as time expired during its drive, then the second-team offense saw its drive end in an interception. When the first team got another shot, Vita Vea got to Mayfield for a sack.

After practice, head coach Todd Bowles said he was happy with the mentality and competitiveness of Monday’s practice, but noted that they have to execute better.

“I thought mentally, they were fine. They came to practice,” Bowles said. “I thought they finished great. We’ve got to execute better. Mentally, they handled it fine. The competition was great. We’ve just got to execute better in pads.”

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds caught up with third-year tight end Payne Durham, one of the subjects of Pewter Report’s Training Camp Diary series, after practice on Monday, asking him about the sluggish play from the offense. Durham had the chance to make a big play down the field but cornerback Jamel Dean knocked the ball out of his hands while he was bringing in the reception.

“It was definitely a little warm outside. That’s just something we’ve got to overcome,” Durham said. “Getting back used to the pads on. I think we did some good things out there, but I agree. I was sluggish, the offense was sluggish, [it’s] just something we’ve got to continue to improve on.”

Do-It-All Depth DBs Showing Their Value To Bucs Defense

Two of the Bucs’ depth defensive backs were the biggest playmakers in Monday’s practice. The secondary as a whole has gotten off to a spectacular start in training camp, and this time, it was undrafted rookie J.J. Roberts and third-year pro Christian Izien who highlighted the day.

In an early 1-on-1 period between the defensive backs and pass-catchers, Roberts had a honey badger-like play in which he ripped the ball free from rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka for an interception. Then, once the team got into 11-on-11s, Roberts came up with a sack on a nickel blitz. Safety Tykee Smith came flying in from one side, and Roberts was in on the other side in the slot.

Bucs DB J.J. Roberts – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Roberts then had the biggest hit of the day, perhaps the first “pop” with the team now practicing in pads. He came over the middle and drilled wide receiver Ryan Miller to force an incompletion.

As for Izien, he came up with two big plays late in practice. On one, he dropped in coverage and intercepted Kyle Trask near the goal line, and on the other, he broke up another pass. The versatile defensive back can play nickel, safety and even outside corner in a pinch, which is a big reason why head coach and defensive play-caller Todd Bowles loves having him around.

“Izzy’s valuable,” Bowles said after practice. “He’s gonna be here, I can say he made the team. I can tell you he made the team. He does so many things well for us. He’s a football player. He comes to practice, he comes to play, you see the same guy every day. He just loves to play, and the guys love him. Izzy’s been great for the defense.”

Observations & Highlights From Day 5 Of Bucs Training Camp

Here are some quick-hitting observations from Tampa Bay’s fifth training camp practice of 2025, which was their first in pads:

• The aforementioned 1-on-1s were a first for the Bucs during this year’s training camp, and it featured a lot of back and forth. Sterling Shepard beat Jacob Parrish early and Tez Johnson followed by beating Kindle Vildor deep. But the defensive backs responded well, with the J.J. Roberts interception on Emeka Egbuka as well as picks by Tykee Smith (in coverage on Tanner Taula) and Benjamin Morrison (in coverage on Rakim Jarrett).
• Jacob Parrish also had an early sack on Baker Mayfield in 11-on-11s, coming in on another nickel blitz.
• Undrafted running back Josh Williams continues to impress early on in camp, and the preseason could be huge for the former LSU Tiger. The Bucs are three-deep at running back already, but Williams will be looking to sneak onto the roster as the No. 4. He does a great job of following his blocks through the hole and then explodes once he gets to the second level.
• Veteran outside linebacker Haason Reddick continues to look as advertised, coming up with a sack in 11-on-11s.

Bucs OLB Haason Reddick and RT Luke Goedeke – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

• Antoine Winfield Jr. uncharacteristically dropped an easy interception off Baker Mayfield during 11-on-11s and was seen working with the JUGGS machine after practice.
• Inside linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. was seen running on the third field early in practice as he looks to work his way back onto the field after starting training camp on the active/NFI list.
• Chris Godwin, who remains on the PUP list, was seen watching practice from the sideline on Monday.
• With David Walker’s season-ending injury, the need for 2024 second-round pick Chris Braswell to take a big step forward in his second year grew even more significant. Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds caught up with Braswell after Monday’s practice to get his thoughts on losing Walker for the season.

“It’s definitely a heartbreak for the team,” Braswell said. “He definitely brings some juice, brings some energy to the room. He’s a great player.”

Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds and Matt Matera did a 15-minute emergency Pewter Report Podcast Monday morning at 8:30 a.m. reacting to the news that Walker will miss his rookie season.

For even more analysis from Monday’s first practice in pads join Matt Matera and Scott Reynolds on the Pewter Report Podcast at 4:00 p.m. ET on the PewterReportTV YouTube channel. Bring your questions and comments for the Pewter Reporters as we love having fans interact with the show.