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After being forced into the indoor facility at the AdventHealth Training Center for Sunday morning’s practice, the Bucs began the fifth day of training camp Monday morning outside in a downpour. It was a good thought, as the team was in full pads for the first time this season and struggled through a couple of rainy games during the second half of the 2025 season.

But about a half-hour in, Tampa Bay was forced back inside and finished up the rest of the morning in the indoor facility. That means the team will have three straight days of practice inside on the turf, as Tuesday’s night practice will be indoors as well. That’s less than ideal for head coach Todd Bowles and Co., but those are the cards they’ve been dealt during the second three-day stretch of camp.

And at the very least, the rain and subsequent move indoors didn’t put a damper on the increased energy that typically comes with the first padded practice of the year. The Buccaneer defense was especially physical and generally speaking, was able to win a second straight practice.

Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds, Adam Slivon, Bailey Adams, Kat Beutel and Leah Vrabec were on the scene at One Buc Place. Here are their observations and takeaways from another rainy August morning.

Bucs Defense Does The Dirty Work To Win The Day Again

The Bucs defense dominated much of Sunday morning’s practice, doing so with a flurry of sacks and a couple of interceptions. But while that side of the ball won out again Monday morning, it did so while doing the dirty work rather than coming up with the type of splash plays it made Sunday.

With the pads on, Tampa Bay’s offense went relatively run-heavy early on in practice, and the defensive front was up to the challenge. In 9-on-7s, second-year defensive tackle Elijah Roberts came up with back-to-back run stuffs, with Elijah Simmons getting in there on the second one, too. Soon after, outside linebacker Mo Kamara came swarming in for a tackle for loss and rookie inside linebacker Caden Fordham came up with a stuff of his own. It was a period overwhelmingly won by the defensive line and the linebackers.

Into 11-on-11s, the defensive line continued to have plenty of success, especially when it came to stopping the run. On one play, Alex Anzalone and Yaya Diaby teamed up to stop Kenny Gainwell for a minimal gain. Rookie inside linebacker Josiah Trotter followed that up by getting to Sean Tucker for a tackle for loss.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and RB Kenny Gainwell – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Speaking of Trotter, he came alive even more later in Monday’s practice, first knocking backup tackle Justin Skule back with a punch before swarming to the ball for another tackle for loss. He then shot the A gap on the very next play to make his third tackle for loss of the day.

It wasn’t flashy by any means, but most of the defense’s dominance came from doing the dirty work, clogging up running lanes and flying to the football.

That’s not to say there weren’t some big moments for the pass rush, though. Yaya Diaby beat Skule on one rush to get his hand up into Baker Mayfield’s face and force an incompletion. Rookie outside linebacker Rueben Bain Jr. forced a hold on Skule later on, which prevented a would-be sack. Calijah Kancey had another would-be sack to finish that particular 11-on-11 period, too.

And don’t think for a second that second-year outside linebacker David Walker saw his sack streak come to an end. He had a would-be sack toward the end of practice, giving him one in five straight practices.

Refs Show Up And Flags Go Flying, Especially For The Bucs Offense

Both inside linebacker Alex Anzalone and outside linebacker Rueben Bain Jr. said after practice that getting the pads on for Monday’s practice made the fifth day of training camp more like “real football.” But that wasn’t the only thing that gave Monday a “real football” feel, as the Bucs had officials on hand for the first time in this year’s camp. And that meant a lot of flags flying.

It started right away, with back-to-back false starts on the offense delaying the beginning of the 11-on-11 period. Second-year offensive tackle Ben Chukwuma got the hook because of it, with Justin Skule replacing him. But there were more flags to come.

Bucs OT Ben Chukwuma – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

During the initial 11-on-11 period, the offensive line was called for three false starts and an illegal formation penalty. In a later 11-on-11 period, there was another quick penalty on the offense followed by a hold on Skule, a false start on Paul Rubelt and a holding penalty negating what looked to be a phenomenal completion from rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels to rookie Eric Rivers Jr. on a play that saw Daniels move the pocket and throw a dart off his back foot.

Another false start, a holding penalty on the perimeter by rookie Ted Hurst and another hold on the offensive line meant the bulk of the flags were on the offense on Day 5 of training camp. The defense wasn’t completely penalty-free, with a couple offsides penalties. But beyond its struggles for much of the morning on the ground, it was a rough day for the offense in terms of discipline, too.

Other Observations And Takeaways From Day 5 Of Bucs Camp

Here are some quick-hitting observations and takeaways from a rainy Monday morning at One Buc Place:

• Vita Vea remained sidelined for Monday’s practice, and a few others joined him. Wide receives Jalen McMillan and Emeka Egbuka were dressed for practice but didn’t participate, and the same was true for cornerbacks Jacob Parrish and Benjamin Morrison. After practice, head coach Todd Bowles said Parrish, McMillan and Egbuka were just dealing with some soreness and would be okay, while Morrison is still being eased into work.

Bucs WR Jalen McMillan – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

• Ayden Garnes continued to have an impressive start to camp, coming up with an interception of Baker Mayfield during 1-on-1s just after Zyon McCollum intercepted Jake Browning. Garnes also made a great play during the red zone period, stopping Ted Hurst just shy of the goal line to prevent a touchdown.
• Devin Culp had another drop, this time in 1-on-1s. It’s been a rough start to camp for the third-year tight end, who is in danger of missing the cut.
• With McMillan and Egbuka out, there was a heavier dosage of Hurst, Kameron Johnson and Tez Johnson throughout practice. Kameron Johnson had a catch of about 25 yards against Keionte Scott early, then made about a 20-yard catch from Baker Mayfield just before the end of practice.
• The Tampa Bay run game largely had a rough go of it Monday morning, but Bucky Irving and Josh Williams did both score touchdowns from inside the 10-yard line during a red zone period.
• After a big loss early to Kam Johnson and another rep lost in coverage on Chris Godwin Jr., Keionte Scott finished practice by going step for step with Eric Rivers to break up a Jake Browning throw.
• Monday’s practice featured a lot of tight end involvement, mostly from Cade Otton and rookie Bauer Sharp.
• The Bucs return to practice Tuesday night before a day off Wednesday.