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The Bucs were back at it on the practice fields at the AdventHealth Training Center Thursday morning. It was the team’s final practice ahead of Saturday’s preseason game against the Chiefs at Raymond James Stadium, so it was a lighter session than some of the earlier camp days.

Not only was it a lighter practice for Tampa Bay, but the focus was always going to be less about what was happening on the field and more about veteran nose tackle Vita Vea, who agreed to a contract extension with the Bucs Wednesday evening. Vea didn’t participate in practice, but he was all smiles as he walked onto the field and watched as his teammates continued preparations for Week 2 of the preseason.

After practice, Vea spoke to the media for the first time since his “hold-in” – which included a trade request – began.

Pewter Report’s Matt Matera, Bailey Adams, Josh Queipo and Kat Beutel were in attendance at One Buc Place Thursday morning. Here were the biggest observations and takeaways from Tampa Bay’s 15th training camp practice.

Vita Vea Breaks His Silence After Signing Contract Extension

It wasn’t as simple as Vita Vea signing his contract extension and then taking the field for practice less than 12 hours later and participating for the first time this season. But it all makes sense.

Considering where the Bucs were in their practice schedule for the week, there was very little reason to get Vea back out there for the final practice before a preseason game that he won’t play in. Thursday’s practice was shortened anyway, so it made way more sense to give valuable time to those who will be suiting up under the lights at Raymond James Stadium this Saturday night. Not only that, but it gives the 31-year-old veteran a chance to start ramping things up with a fresh week of practice.

So, it was more of the same for Vea Thursday morning. Only it did feel different. He was greeted by handshakes and hugs of congratulations when he walked out to the practice field, then spent some time talking with general manager Jason Licht before assuming his spot near the defensive line drills, where he watched closely as he’s been doing throughout camp thus far.

Bucs GM Jason Licht and DT Vita Vea – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

After practice, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said they’ll begin to get Vea going next week, but they’ll bring him along slowly. He won’t be thrown right into joint practices with the Jaguars after missing the first three weeks of camp, and he won’t play in the preseason. Instead, the goal is to get the big man ready for Week 1 on Sept. 13.

After practice, Vea spoke to the media and gave a little more insight into what the contract negotiation and hold-in process has been like for him. There was some acknowledgement of his desire to be compensated and appreciated at a level consistent with what the market dictates as well as the fact that this is a part of the business that a lot of guys go through each year. This year, it just happened to be him.

More of Vea’s press conference, however, was about his love for Tampa, the Bucs organization, Todd Bowles and his teammates. He spoke about how he was drafted to play here and how he’s made it his home, saying this process was never about wanting to go elsewhere. He always wanted to be a Buc and wants to be a Buc for life.

Vea went on to discuss the additions Tampa Bay has made on defense and how excited he is to be a part of things, saying he thinks they have “something special.” A captain for the last four seasons, he also discussed how much the team feeds off Baker Mayfield as the “heart and soul” of the Bucs and made a strong defense of Bowles regarding last year’s second-half collapse that led to the end of their reign atop the NFC South.

Vea said he wanted to set the record straight regarding Bowles, saying the players love him and that he puts the team in situations to succeed. Furthermore, if you want to blame anyone, he says to blame it on the players. He even went as far as saying he’s told Bowles that the day he retires from coaching, Vea himself will retire as well. (Does that sound like a guy who requested a trade to get away from Todd Bowles?)

For further coverage of Vita Vea’s post-practice press conference, stay tuned to PewterReport.com and the Pewter Report Podcast on our PewterReportTV YouTube channel.

Zyon McCollum Shines For Bucs Defense In Scaled-Back Practice

The Bucs’ shortened practice Thursday morning left little room for highlight plays and standout moments, but it was a good day for cornerback Zyon McCollum. The fifth-year corner was back at it after missing Wednesday’s practice, and he continued the strong play that has made him one of the winners in camp thus far.

Early in an 11-on-11 period, Baker Mayfield looked to air out a deep ball to Tez Johnson, but McCollum was right there to break up the pass. He got the better of Johnson again later in practice, with the second-year receiver catching a short pass out to the right side only for McCollum to be right there to meet him. With full pads on and in a game setting, it would’ve been an impressive tackle for loss. As it was, it was a good rep for No. 27 in getting to the right spot and being there to make a play.

Todd Bowles said earlier this week that McCollum wouldn’t play Saturday against the Chiefs, but left the door open Thursday. It’ll be a wait-and-see situation depending on how they feel, but the head coach mentioned that both McCollum and Benjamin Morrison are in play to get some snaps after missing time.

Other Observations And Takeaways From Day 15 Of Bucs Camp

Here are some other observations and takeaways from Day 15 of Bucs training camp:

• Emeka Egbuka, Cade Otton, Ben Chukwuma and Christian Rozeboom remained out of action Thursday morning, with Justin Skule, Chris Braswell, Jalen McMillan and SirVocea Dennis all sidelined as well.

Bucs ILBs SirVocea Dennis and Christian Rozeboom – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

• Kameron Johnson came up with a nice catch on an intermediate route near the sideline early in practice.
• Bauer Sharp continued to feature fairly heavily in Cade Otton’s absence, with one standout moment coming on a short outlet catch that he turned into a big gain down the sideline thanks to some good blocking to create a tunnel.
• In the red zone period, Kenny Gainwell, Sean Tucker and Chris Godwin Jr. all came up with touchdown catches.
• The biggest play of the day came relatively late when Baker Mayfield fired a deep ball over the middle of the field to Tez Johnson for a touchdown.
• Once again, rookie outside linebacker Rueben Bain Jr. was working out on his own after practice, getting some extra reps in.

• The Bucs are set to host the Chiefs Saturday night at Raymond James Stadium as the preseason continues. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.