The Bucs traveled to Nashville to begin a pair of joint practices against the Titans on Wednesday. The weather in Tennessee was beautiful and much cooler than the hot and humid climate in Tampa. Wednesday’s practice was held under partly sunny skies with temperatures in the low 80s.

Missing In Practice / Injuries

As expected, Bucs wide receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Russell Gage did not practice. The Bucs also held Giovani Bernard out of practice, and linebacker Grant Stuard didn’t make the trip. Gage and Breshad Perriman were both running sprints for the Bucs training staff on the sidelines during practice. Both look close to returning to action.

Towards the end of practice linebacker K.J. Britt left practice with the trainers. He didn’t appear to be favoring any particular body part, so it might have been cramps or dehydration-related. Safety Keanu Neal also left practice. After the first 30 minutes he took off his shoulder pads and was seen icing down his right biceps or triceps.

Bucs WRs Put On A Show In Nashville

Much like they did against Miami in the first of two joint practices last week, Tampa Bay’s wide receivers put on a show on Wednesday against the Titans defensive backs. It started off in 1-on-1s where Tyler Johnson, Jaelon Darden, Kaylon Geiger and Jerreth Sterns took center stage, dominating the Titans defensive backs. Scotty Miller and Deven Thompkins also had some early wins.

As things progressed to 11-on-11s, Geiger and Vyncint Smith really stepped up for both Blaine Gabbert and Kyle Trask. Smith might’ve had his best training camp practice thus far. He needs to really shine, as several of Tampa Bay‘s receivers have really stepped to the forefront in the fight for the final two or three roster spots.

Wide receiver Julio Jones made a great catch near the sidelines for Gabbert. Trask rebounded from two early interceptions – one in 1-on-1s and one in 7-on-7s – to have a fine practice. He’s becoming more comfortable within the pocket and keeping his eyes trained downfield. On one such play he sidestepped the rush and found Smith wide open down the field for a huge bomb.

Both Gabbert and Trask continued throwing accurate passes in the final 11-on-11 sessions, which were in 2-minute situations. Both the Bucs and Titans were practicing getting into field range, and Blaine and Trask each led two successful drives. Darden, Geiger, Miller and Jones also came through with clutch catches from Gabbert and Trask.

Anthony Shines In 2-Minute Pass Rush

Bucs rookie outside linebacker Andre Anthony has had a slow start to training camp but showed up big against Tennessee on Wednesday. During two-minute drills Anthony had a string of consecutive plays where he beat backup tackle Jalen McKenzie for would be sacks three times in a row. With the recent signing of Carl Nassib, Anthony faces an uphill battle to make the team’s final 53-man roster. But today’s performance should help his cause.

Nassib’s Debut In Red And Pewter

Bucs OLB Carl Nassib – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

New Bucs outside linebacker Carl Nassib practiced for the first time with Tampa Bay on Wednesday. He got most of his work in 1-on-1s and saw very few reps afterwards, which is not a surprise. Nassib is familiar with the scheme, having played for Todd Bowles in 2019 after joining the Bucs in 2018. But he’s spent the last two seasons in Las Vegas playing for the Raiders. After practice he admitted that he didn’t even have the Bucs playbook yet, but Nassib did say that the scheme suits him well.

“I watched him during individuals – he looked good there,” Bowles said. “But we’ve got to see him in the heat and go a number of plays. And get his fundamentals back down because he missed a lot of time.

“We have a good relationship with him and thought he could still play. We thought he would be great because he brings a lot of versatility to what we do, and he knows the system. So, knowing the system, having the ability to still play and having camaraderie with the guys was important for us.”

Bucs vs. Titans Practice Gets Chippy In The Trenches

Bucs OL Nick Leverett – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Things got chippy between the Bucs offensive line and the Titans defensive line in one on ones and in nine on seven but both sides got things under control and no fights broke out.

Tampa Bay’s run game struggled initially against the Titans stout defense. Where the Bucs did have some success was throwing the ball, as both Blaine Gabbert and Kyle Trask had very good practices against Tennessee. Trask did throw a pair of interceptions, one of which was in one on one and one of which was in seven on seven. But outside of those two plays Trask looked very sharp in practice, especially in 11 and 11 at the end of practice during two-minute situations.

Jeffrey Simmons and the titans D line we’re trying to beat the Bucs players into a fight. They came close with Nick Leverett, who is the hothead along the office of line. The Titans even try to aggressively punch the ball out of Cam Brate’s hands. But Brate did not take the bait.

Bucs Defensive Backs Struggled in One-On-Ones

Carlton Davis and Dee Delaney both had trouble defending in one-on-ones against Titans receivers. Rookie Zyon McCollum showed good coverage on a couple of plays during the period, breaking up one pass while allowing a catch in tight coverage on a second. Rashaud Robinson also had a really bad rep getting called for a flag while still allowing the catch.

Bucs linebacker Devin White had a good day in pass coverage, picking off Ryan Tannehill on a pass to the middle of the field and showing tight coverage against backs and tight ends out in the flats. White has made strides in coverage during training camp, and that progress continued in Tennessee.

Inconsistency In O-Line Drills Ruled The Day

Tackles Donovan Smith and Tristan Wirfs dominated their one-on-one drills. Robert Hainsey also had some good reps. Shaq Mason won more than he lost. Aaron Stinnie showed good technique, but his lack of anchor was on display as he gave up ground on each rep. Leverett and Luke Goedeke both struggled against the Titans interior rushers.

Succup Has A Strangle-Hold On The Kicking Competition

Veteran Ryan Succup was perfect on the day in both special teams drills as well as the 11-on-11 two-minute drills. Succup hit from as long as 50 yards out. He is not giving Jose Borregales any margin for error to take the job.