The Bucs returned to the AdventHealth Training Center Friday morning for Day 3 of training camp. Under mostly cloudy skies and in humid conditions, Tampa Bay continued to put the work in just over two weeks ahead of its preseason opener at Cincinnati.

The Bucs, like every team, are still in shorts and helmets to begin training camp. Head coach Todd Bowles confirmed Friday that the pads will come on for Monday’s practice. That means, after an off day on Saturday, the team will have one more practice in shorts and helmets on Sunday before getting some contact in starting Monday morning.

Pewter Report’s Matt Matera, Bailey Adams, Adam Slivon and new intern Isaiah Delgado were in attendance for Friday’s practice. Here are their observations.

Bucs Who Were Not Practicing

Outside linebacker Randy Gregory remained absent from Friday’s practice, as he’s still on the Reserve/Did Not Report list. Rookie quarterback Zack Annexstad and second-year tight end Tanner Taula, who are both on the Active/Non-Football Injury list, also remained sidelined.

Running back Chase Edmonds was out for the second straight day as well, while wide receiver Mike Evans got a veteran day off after catching some passes early on in practice. Lavonte David also got a vet day, with second-year linebacker SirVocea Dennis taking his place with the first-team defense alongside K.J. Britt.

Although he’s catching some passes on the sideline, #Bucs WR Mike Evans won’t be practicing fully today. pic.twitter.com/jFNg9glOuJ

— PewterReport 🏴‍☠️ (@PewterReport) July 26, 2024

Bucs Defense Comes Through With Big Plays On The Football

There was a lot of give and take between the Liam Coen’s offense and Todd Bowles’ defense over the first two practices this week, but things swung a bit more in the defense’s favor on Friday morning.

“Today was probably the worst in terms of completions in the pass game with quarterbacks and receivers, but there was some good,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said after practice. “It was just the most up and down day we had, especially for me.”

The Bucs offense was less sharp and a bit sloppier, but the defense also made some big-time plays on the football, which was an encouraging sign for a unit that has been poor in that department for most of the last few years.

Bucs DB Tavierre Thomas – Photo by: Cliff Welch P/R

The first big play from the defense came courtesy of undrafted linebacker Antonio Grier Jr., formerly with USF and Arkansas. Early in the 11-on-11 period, he came up with an interception of John Wolford over the middle of the field. Undrafted cornerback Tyrek Funderburk nearly had an interception of his own against Baker Mayfield a couple plays later, though it went down as a pass breakup with the ball falling to the ground after being tipped and hanging up in the air for a second.

Rookie defensive back Tykee Smith also had a big pass breakup near the pylon during the red zone period.

The Bucs defense continued to make it a tough day for Wolford as the team moved into 7-on-7s, with second-year cornerback Keenan Isaac and veteran cornerback Tavierre Thomas coming up with interceptions on back-to-back days. That marked the second interception in three days for Thomas. Though his natural home may be at nickel cornerback, the former Houston Texan is also seeing time at both safety positions, head coach Todd Bowles said after practice.

“Still working that over. He’s playing nickel, he’s playing strong (safety), he’s playing free (safety),” Bowles said. “As the camp weeks and days go on, we’ll see how that pans out. But it’s good that he has a lot of versatility.”

Just as practice was winding down with a two-minute drill, the Tampa Bay defense put one final stamp on a good practice with Jordan Whitehead intercepting Baker Mayfield in the end zone on a Hail Mary attempt.

Depth Receivers Young And Old(er) Stepping Up Early For Bucs

Bucs WR Kameron Johnson – Photo by: Cliff Welch P/R

There was plenty of reason to bring attention to Mike Evans for his strong first day of practice on Wednesday and then focus on a big day for rookie Jalen McMillan on Thursday. But on Friday, a lot of the offense’s biggest plays came from some of the players vying for the depth receiver spots.

Undrafted rookie Kameron Johnson out of Barton College continued to flash, making catch after catch early in 11-on-11s and showing off his electric 4.46 speed. Johnson was one of the sleepers coming into training camp after a strong summer, and he’ll be one to keep watching when the pads come on next week and the preseason begins the week after.

“He’s very athletic,” Bowles said Friday. “I think he’s very good run after catch, he can return punts and kicks. I’ll be able to better evaluate him once we get in pads, but he shows great athleticism right now. He’s one you want to keep an eye on, but again, it’s early in the stages. You’ve got to see how he performs when the pads come on.”

Second-year receiver Ryan Miller is another one who has quietly put together a strong start to camp, while an older, more veteran receiver is also beginning to really come along as the days go by. That would be 31-year-old Sterling Shepard, who signed with the Bucs in the summer. After having a pass go off his hands for an interception on Wednesday, the former New York Giant has come back with big practices on both Thursday and Friday.

Bucs WR Sterling Shepard – Photo by: Cliff Welch P/R

Shepard is still adjusting to the offense after getting a later start, but he and backup quarterback Kyle Trask have connected time and again over the last couple of days.

The veteran receiver, who was teammates with Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield at Oklahoma, is also bringing a high level of energy to the practice fields at the AdventHealth Training Center. Mayfield referenced that after practice when asked about McMillan, mentioning how the rookie — as well as the veteran Shepard — are bringing some juice and trash talk to training camp.

“[Jalen McMillan] brings a lot of juice to that room. I think him and Sterling, a couple of little Mighty Mouses running out there, screaming at people, talking trash… It brings energy,” Mayfield said. “Chris (Godwin) and Mike (Evans) are pro’s pros. They’ve been doing it for so long at such a high level that sometimes it’s hard for them to get excited over a touchdown, especially in practice. So it’s good to see Jalen and those guys bring juice to it.”

Observations And Highlights From Day 3 Of Bucs Camp

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

• Rookie center Graham Barton continued to get reps with the starting offensive line on Friday. It was Ben Bredeson’s day to get reps at starting left guard, as he and Sua Opeta have been alternating to begin camp.
• Playing in place of Lavonte David (veteran rest day), second-year linebacker SirVocea Dennis had a nice pass breakup near the goal line as he stuck right with running back Rachaad White in coverage.
• Trey Palmer has had a bit of a slow start to camp this week, with a couple of drops in the individual period on Thursday and both a false start and a drop on back-to-back plays during Friday’s practice.
• In the two-minute drill near the end of practice, rookie outside linebacker Chris Braswell got to Baker Mayfield for a would-be sack.
• Kicker Chase McLaughlin had another perfect day on field goals, going 6-of-6 while ranging from 25 to 51 yards.
• Newly signed tight end Sal Cannella was on the field for his first Bucs practice, wearing the No. 49.