After a couple of joint practices in Jacksonville last week and a second straight preseason away game on Saturday night, the Bucs were back in Tampa at the AdventHealth Training Center for Monday morning’s practice.

Tampa Bay began this week of practice in shells (shorts, shoulder pads and helmets) and will be back on the field for another practice Tuesday morning before a joint practice with the Miami Dolphins on Wednesday. The team will then wrap up its preseason slate Friday night, hosting the Dolphins at Raymond James Stadium.

Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds, Matt Matera, Bailey Adams and Isaiah Delgado were in attendance for Monday’s practice. Here are their observations.

Bucs Who Were Not Practicing

Bucs CB Tyrek Funderburk – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Quite a few Bucs were sidelined for Monday’s practice. Running back Chase Edmonds remained out, while rookie tight end Devin Culp, offensive linemen Luke Haggard and Justin Skule, tight end Payne Durham, wide receiver Raleigh Webb, cornerback Tyrek Funderburk, defensive tackle Greg Gaines and safeties Jordan Whitehead and Kaevon Merriweather also watched from the sideline.

Third-string quarterback John Wolford, who was injured late in the Bucs’ 20-7 loss to the Jaguars on Saturday night, initially appeared at Monday’s practice in his shoulder pads and looked OK early on before watching the 11-on-11 periods from the side while wearing a bucket hat.

Despite the long list of non-participants, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said after practice that they have some guys “nicked up” but that they’re relatively healthy at this point in training camp. And on that note…

Progress Being Made For The Bucs On The Injury Front

Bucs ILB SirVocea Dennis – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

There were several injured Buccaneers who returned to the practice field on Monday and others whose participation ramped up from where it was in recent weeks. Defensive tackle Calijah Kancey was back at practice and participating in 11-on-11 team drills. Joining him was outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, who has been dressing out in recent weeks but only participating in independent drills and sitting out during team periods.

Having the fourth-year pass rusher back to start this week was an encouraging sign. Bowles said after practice that they won’t rush Tryon-Shoyinka, but he’s trending well for the team’s Week 1 game against Washington.

Tampa Bay also had second-year inside linebacker SirVocea Dennis back at practice on Monday, though he was wearing a black no-contact jersey. Nonetheless, Dennis was back to participating in the 11-on-11 periods and was busy both on blitzes and in coverage.

Veteran receiver Sterling Shepard was also back in pads for the first time in weeks, though he did not participate in team drills. Meanwhile, rookie receiver Kameron Johnson shed the no-contact jersey that he was wearing last week and was back to fully participating in both individual and team drills.

Kameron Johnson no longer has a no-contact jersey on and looks like a full-go. Calijah Kancey is also back at practice. Good signs for the Bucs.

— PewterReport 🏴‍☠️ (@PewterReport) August 19, 2024

A Disjointed Passing Day For The Bucs And A Big-Man Interception

Tampa Bay’s passing offense was a bit disjointed during Monday’s 11-on-11 period, with both starter Baker Mayfield and backup Kyle Trask misfiring on a few occasions with some overthrows and having a few passes broken up as well. Marcus Banks and Josh Hayes were among the Buccaneer defenders who got their hands on the ball.

Bucs QB Kyle Trask and OC Liam Coen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The lone interception in practice came late, with veteran outside linebacker Anthony Nelson picking off Kyle Trask at point-blank range.

After practice, Nelson talked about being the Bucs’ third front line defender to come up with a training camp interception, joining the likes of defensive tackle Logan Hall and rookie outside linebacker Chris Braswell in the INT department this August.

“It was good getting that [interception],” Nelson said. “I was getting a little jealous of those two (Hall and Braswell) being the only ones. It was good, I was just rushing and had a little bit of luck. It’s better to be lucky than good sometimes. I’ll take them when I get them. That one came right to me, so I caught in self-protection more than anything. I could finally put my big wingspan to some use.”

Nelson, who had an interception in the joint practices with the Jets last year, is the tallest Bucs defender and can be difficult to throw over. The 6-foot-7, 271-pound Nelson has an 83-inch wingspan and his arms are just shy of 35 inches in length.

Observations And Highlights From Day 16 Of Bucs Camp

Here are some quick-hitting observations from Tampa Bay’s 16th training camp practice:

• It wasn’t all bad for the Bucs passing game, though, as Baker Mayfield opened up 11-on-11s with a nice intermediate throw near the left sideline to Mike Evans. He later had a long completion to Cade Otton down the seam.
• Jalen McMillan overcame an early drop in Monday’s practice and made a good contested catch with Lavonte David in coverage. The throw was a bullet and the rookie receiver showed sticky hands to haul it in and hang on for the catch.
• Kyle Trask’s play of the day came on the run, as he rolled to his right and threw a perfect ball to Sean Tucker down the sideline for a touchdown.
• Vita Vea had a would-be sack during 11-on-11s, beating Graham Barton on the play.
• Speaking of Barton, he running as the center with the first-team offensive line.
• The newest Buc, defensive tackle Brandon Matterson, joined practice straight away. He made his way out to the practice fields a little later, wearing the No. 56 jersey that was (but also wasn’t) Randy Gregory’s.