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Ahead of a day off on Saturday, the Bucs were back at the AdventHealth Training Center Friday morning for Day 3 of training camp. After a short spell of rain cooled things down on Wednesday and it stayed on the cooler side Thursday, Friday was the hottest day of camp thus far.

Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield dominated headlines Thursday afternoon and night after a heated press conference in which he revealed that contract negotiations with the team had left him feeling “disappointed,” “disrespected” and “undervalued.” One of the prevailing narratives was that ultimately, the situation would only make the chip on Mayfield’s shoulder even bigger and set him up to have a big season.

There’s obviously a long way to go, but that looks like the case right now as he went from heated Thursday to fired up and on fire Friday morning, lighting up the Buccaneer defense and having his best practice of the week by a wide margin.

Here are the big observations and takeaways from Pewter Report’s Matt Matera, Adam Slivon and Bailey Adams, who were all in attendance at One Buc Place Friday morning.

Friday Was A Big Day For Baker Mayfield And The Bucs Offense

Among the many strong words quarterback Baker Mayfield shared after Thursday’s practice, he sprinkled in a warning to the Bucs front office that he was about to ball out and make sure that price tag on a new contract goes up by the time negotiations come back around after the 2026 season.

No one will confuse a July practice in shells with the NFC Championship Game or anything, but Friday saw the potential beginnings of Mayfield backing up that warning with his play.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by Cliff Welch P/R

Mayfield and the Bucs offense aired it out plenty throughout Day 3 of training camp, with the biggest play of the day – and the biggest of camp so far – coming early in 11-on-11s. Mayfield launched a deep ball and dropped it perfectly between two defenders to Emeka Egbuka for a long touchdown pass.

Later on in 11-on-11s, Mayfield threaded the needle over the middle of the field for a completion to Chris Godwin Jr., who caught it in traffic for an intermediate gain. The two later connected again, with Mayfield unleashing a perfect pass near the sideline to where only Godwin could get it. The 10th-year receiver made an outstretched catch for the first down and got fired up himself before signaling to move the chains.

Jalen McMillan and Cade Otton got in on the fun, too. Otton caught a Mayfield pass near the sideline and had nothing but green grass ahead, racing alongside the screaming fans for a big gain. Finally, in a later 11-on-11 period, McMillan found himself wide open over the middle of the field, and Mayfield found him deep for another touchdown.

Mayfield was on fire Friday, and the Buccaneer fans in attendance were loving it.

Bucs’ Depth Cornerbacks Get A Chance To Run With First Team

While second-year cornerback Benjamin Morrison returned to practice Friday after missing time earlier this offseason and not participating in the first two days of camp due to another hamstring injury, he stuck to the individual drills and wasn’t rotating in with the full team periods just yet.

So, with Morrison still sidelined, that gave Todd Bowles and his defensive coaches a chance to get a closer look at a couple of guys vying for depth roles at the cornerback position. Damarion Williams, a 5-foot-10 third-year pro out of Houston, got some time with the ones and twos, as did Ayden Garnes, a 6-foot undrafted rookie out of Arizona.

Bucs CBs Ayden Garnes, Jacob Parrish, Benjamin Morrison, Josh Hayes, Keionte Scott and Demarion Williams – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Williams got lost in coverage on the deep touchdown from Mayfield to Jalen McMillan, but Bowles was complimentary of his athleticism and versatility after practice, albeit he did so while also downplaying the notion that him running with the ones and twos is a sign of anything.

“He’s got good athleticism. That’s what we saw when we signed him,” Bowles said. “Right now, with the rotation being off, everybody’s kind of going ones, twos and threes. So, we really don’t look at who he’s working with. He’s got a very good athletic skill. He has some nickel flexibility as well, so it’ll be interesting to see him in pads.”

Garnes seemed to fare a bit better than Williams, though both allowed big plays to some of the Bucs’ top weapons at wide receiver. Garnes and safety Tykee Smith were left behind in coverage on Baker Mayfield’s deep touchdown pass to Emeka Egbuka, though he later came back and made a leaping pass breakup at the end of practice in coverage on David Sills V.

“Very good cover skills. Very good cover guy,” Bowles said of Garnes. “For a corner that small, he’s got great feet. He’s got very good instincts, so I want to see him in pads as well.”

Garnes, Williams and Josh Hayes are all in the mix right now for depth roles behind Zyon McCollum, Jacob Parrish and Benjamin Morrison. So, while Friday was an up-and-down experience for both Garnes and Williams, it was an important opportunity for both. At the same time, it was a good look for Tampa Bay’s coaches and front office as it continues to mull over any potential external depth options that present themselves over the next month or so.

Other Observations And Takeaways From Day 3 Of Bucs Camp

Here are some quick-hitting observations and takeaways from Friday at One Buc Place:

Bucs LT Tristan Wirfs and HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

• Tristan Wirfs remained sidelined by his hamstring injury, but he was out on the practice field Friday to watch from the sideline.
• A’Shawn Robinson didn’t practice Friday, though Todd Bowles said that it was a built-in maintenance day for the veteran, similar to what Thursday was for Chris Godwin Jr.
• The Bucs defense was aggressive from the jump in 11-on-11s, with Alex Anzalone blitzing and getting home on the first play of the period. On that same play, Elijah Roberts got into the backfield and met Anzalone at the quarterback.
• Christian Rozeboom later had a sack of his own on a blitz, getting to Jake Browning.
• Speaking of Browning, he continued to show a good connection with Tez Johnson and rookie tight end Bauer Sharp during Friday’s practice.
• With the caveat of this practice still being in shells rather than pads, Tampa Bay’s run game picked up some steam early and often. Bucky Irving, Sean Tucker and Josh Williams all broke off big runs. Kenny Gainwell got more opportunities as a receiver out of the backfield, though he later got a carry and turned it into a sizable gain.
• Kam Johnson, Tez Johnson, Garrett Greene, Damarion Williams and Eric Rivers Jr. were all in the mix catching punts during the special teams period.
• Chase McLaughlin was a perfect 7-of-7 during the first official field goal period of camp, hitting his longest from around 50 yards.
• David Walker continued his hot start to camp, getting to the quarterback a couple of times off the edge.
• The Bucs will be off Saturday before returning to the field Sunday morning for Day 4 of training camp.

The Pewter Report Podcast Recaps Each Bucs Training Camp Practice

For more coverage on Bucs training camp practices, watch the Pewter Report Podcast – presented by Prize Picks – on the PewterReportTV YouTube channel. Each Pewter Report Podcast goes live at 4:00 pm ET on the days the Buccaneers practice. Visit PewterReportTV for more our exclusive Camp Diaries with QB Jalon Daniels and OLB David Walker and other Bucs video analysis.