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Day 2 of Bucs training camp at the AdventHealth Training Center continued on Thursday morning as the team made it through unscathed by the rain. Although it was overcast throughout the practice session, raindrops eluded the field and it stayed cool in the low 80s temperature-wise.

Despite it being a bit cooler outside, things began to heat up late for how the offense played – and the comments made by fiery quarterback Baker Mayfield after practice during his press conference.

Here are the big observations and takeaways from Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds, Matt Matera, Adam Slivon, and Kat Beutel, who were all on the scene at One Buc Place on Thursday.

Several Key Bucs Remained Out, In Addition To WR Chris Godwin Jr.

With the news being that star left tackle Tristan Wirfs joined defensive tackle Vita Vea in not practicing on the first day of training camp after each tweaked something reporting on Tuesday, there was another notable addition – wide receiver Chris Godwin Jr.

Head coach Todd Bowles stated after practice that it was a maintenance day for the 10-year veteran, but it is worth noting that Godwin will not be a full participant for each day of camp. That opens up opportunities for snaps in what is a highly competitive and deep wide receiver room.

Outside of those three key veterans not practicing, the status of cornerback Benjamin Morrison remains up in the air. Morrison was spotted with his No. 21 jersey on standing next to the team’s other cornerbacks, but he again remained very limited. With Zyon McCollum and Keionte Scott as the primary corners, the bottom of the depth chart got a lot of run out there.

Beginning Of Bucs Practice Was Back-And-Forth, Defense Had 2 Big Turnovers

After the first day of Bucs training camp showed a lot of give-and-take between the offense and defense, the second day showed much of the same early on. The offense had its moments, but it was the defense that came up with two of the biggest plays of the morning. First, it appeared that Baker Mayfield connected with wide receiver Emeka Egbuka for a nice gain up the middle of the field.

As Egbuka turned to head up field, safety Tykee Smith punched the ball from Egbuka’s hands. Fellow safety Antoine Winfield Jr. jumped in with cat-like reflexes to recover it. Tampa Bay hopes for more of the same from its safety duo, as it was an instance of two of the unit’s best players tag-teaming to force a turnover.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Then it was the second-team defense’s turn. Quarterback Jake Browning took over and immediately tried to attack down the field. Inside linebacker John Bullock had other ideas, as he dropped deep into his zone and used every bit of his wingspan to put his hands up and record an interception. Bullock then had a nice interception return running down the field and added a tackle for loss a couple of plays later.

He is not the first name many think of discussing the inside linebacker competition, but Todd Bowles has been pleased from what he has seen at the position through two practices so far.

“They’re all smart,” Bowles said of the group. “Other than [Josiah] Trotter, Bullock was here last year, [Nick] Jackson’s been here for a year. Other than [this year’s] two free agent rookies, those guys are pretty much veterans. So, there is going to be a lot of competition.

“They’re all savvy in their own way, they understand how to play, they understand how to put themselves in position, even though they’re all different athletically. It’s going to be a good battle. Bullock had a great day today, great read, he had an interception right there. He’s a very heady player; he has a lot of recall from last year. He’s just got to keep getting better.”

Bucs Offense Turns The Page, Heats Up With Touchdowns Galore

A key swing in favor of the Bucs’ offense came in the red zone drills during the second half of practice. After the first-team offense failed to reach the end zone, Jake Browning took advantage of facing the second-team defense. He went on to pick the unit apart with several touchdown throws, with two of them going to wide receiver Tez Johnson and another to offseason signing David Sills V.

That was not it for the Browning-Johnson connection, however. While it was not the prettiest spiral, the veteran signal-caller lofted a pass that Johnson was able to run under and haul in for a 50-yard touchdown. He fittingly celebrated with – you guessed it – a backflip.

The duo was the biggest story of the morning, but Baker Mayfield also efficiently distributed the football and made a nice touchdown throw to Emeka Egbuka.

Other Observations And Takeaways From Day 2 Of Bucs Camp

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

• Quarterback Baker Mayfield’s press conference was highly anticipated all morning, and he made plenty of attention-grabbing statements discussing the failed negotiations for a contract extension before training camp.

• Defensive back Keionte Scott is learning the entire Bucs secondary this offseason. After getting looks at nickel and safety, Scott spent practice as the other starting outside cornerback opposite Zyon McCollum. Jacob Parrish, expected to play outside, went back to playing nickel.

• The interior defensive line made a minimal dent in the offensive line’s armor, as much of the pressure was generated from the outside pass-rushers. Yaya Diaby and Rueben Bain Jr. led the way, but undrafted rookie Yasir Holmes also had a rep that was debatably a would-be sack.

• While it is hard to always guage the performance of running backs in training camp practices, Sean Tucker had a couple of runs for solid yardage. In one instance, he was able to pick up extra yards in the red zone by utilizing a spin move and ducking and running behind his left guard.

The Bucs will get back at it for Day 3 of training camp Friday morning before the day off on Saturday.

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.