Pewter Report’s Bucs Training Camp coverage is presented by Synergy Outdoor Kitchens & More

Become the envy of the neighborhood – and the place to come for Tampa Bay watch parties and home tailgating – with a custom outdoor kitchen from Synergy Outdoor Kitchens & More! Get a FREE Coyote Portable Tailgate grill – an $800 value – with the purchase of a new outdoor kitchen Wesley Chapel • Sarasota/Bradenton • Tampa • Orlando / Call Synergy at 813-993-1531 or visit SynergyFL.com

After thoroughly losing Tuesday’s joint practice with the Jaguars, the Bucs returned to the Miller Electric Center outside EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville early Wednesday morning for one final tune-up ahead of Friday night’s preseason finale.

Tampa Bay had very little opportunity for much of a bounce-back effort, as Wednesday’s practice felt a lot like the last day of school. Of course, it was effectively the last day of training camp for both the Bucs and the Jaguars as roster cutdowns come Sunday and next week begins the two-week stretch leading into Week 1 of the regular season.

Still, in the little bit of Bucs-on-Jaguars action that did take place in the second of these two joint practices, Todd Bowles and the visiting team did respond with a better showing.

Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds, Matt Matera, Adam Slivon, Bailey Adams and Kat Beutel were once again on hand for practice under mostly gray skies in Jacksonville. Here are the big observations and takeaways from the day.

Bucs, Jaguars Go Their Separate Ways On The Last Day Of Camp

In many ways, Wednesday’s practice between the Bucs and Jaguars was a joint practice in name only. With a game just over 48 hours away, this wasn’t a padded practice. The two sides began the morning going through warmups on their own, which is not unusual. But then, after some 7-on-7 work, the teams split up again and did their special teams periods followed by prolonged walkthrough periods to end practice.

The practice began around 9:30 a.m. and wrapped up by 11:00 a.m., though Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said after practice that everything went according to plan with the last two days from a logistical standpoint.

Jaguars HC Liam Coen and Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Scott Reynolds/PR

“It was by design. We knew that coming in,” Bowles said. “They’re kind of banged up, we’re kind of banged up as well, so we knew we were going to do spiders on the second day and get some pass work in.”

As far as whether his team got what it wanted to out of the joint practices in Jacksonville, Bowles had a mixed bag of an answer.

“Mentally, yes, we got what we wanted out of it,” he said. “I thought we were rusty, especially on the offensive side of the ball. The defense played harder. They still gave up some plays from mental busts. We’ve got to get better at that. But it was good for us to see.”

Bucs Showed Up Ready To Play In Early 7-On-7 Periods

Before the teams did break up for their own respective practices, they did go head-to-head in some 7-on-7 work, first in the red zone and then around midfield. And on both fields, the Bucs did a respectable job in bouncing back from an all-around poor showing Tuesday morning.

The Buccaneer defense dominated the red zone period, with rookie inside linebacker Josiah Trotter reading the play perfectly and intercepting Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence to get things going. Not long after, rookie cornerback Ayden Garnes jumped a route and picked off Lawrence.

Tampa Bay’s defensive backs continued to get their hands on the football throughout the red zone and subsequent 7-on-7 period. First, it was second-year corner Benjamin Morrison coming through with a pass breakup in the end zone on a Nick Mullens pass intended for Brady Boyd. Later on, rookie Keionte Scott made a fantastic recovery to get his hand in to knock a pass away near the sideline, then second-year corner Roman Parodie broke up a Mullens pass over the middle.

The only real losses in 7-0n-7s for the Bucs defense ironically came from the unit’s top two corners. First, Lawrence hit Parker Washington for a toe-tap touchdown with second-year man Jacob Parrish in coverage. Then, from the middle of the field, fifth-year cornerback Zyon McCollum was beaten deep by Josh Cameron, who hauled in Lawrence’s pass near the goal line.

On the other field, it was Baker Mayfield and the Bucs offense exacting some revenge for Tuesday’s struggles. In the low red zone period, Mayfield hit Tez Johnson, Kenny Gainwell and Ted Hurst for touchdowns, with Hurst once again getting the better of 2025 No. 2 overall pick Travis Hunter. The rookie ran a quick route, taking a jab step toward the sideline before cutting in and making the catch in front of Hunter right at the goal line.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and WR Ted Hurst III – Photo by: Kat Beutel/PR

After the 7-on-7 period moved to midfield, Mayfield kept it going, threading the needle between the linebackers and safeties to find Chris Godwin Jr. for a gain of about 15-20 yards. It was a much better day for Mayfield and the first-team offense, albeit with a smaller number of reps to work with.

Elsewhere on offense, it was a bit of a subpar day for rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels. He wasn’t as decisive as he needed to be with the football, waiting too long to make his throws or going through his reads too slowly. On one play, he had fellow rookie Bauer Sharp cutting across the back of the end zone wide-open for quite some time before he finally got rid of the ball. By that time, the corner recovered and broke up the pass.

Later, Daniels looked and looked and looked to throw down near the goal line and when he finally unleashed a pass intended for Garrett Greene, it was intercepted by Jabbar Muhammad.

The rookie quarterback did bounce back to finish the red zone 7-on-7 period with a touchdown pass to Dean Patterson IV, giving himself a launching point into Friday night’s preseason finale.

Other Observations And Takeaways From Day 17 Of Bucs Camp

Here are some other observations and takeaways from the final day of Bucs training camp and the second of two practices in Jacksonville:

• Rueben Bain Jr., who suffered an AC sprain Tuesday morning, was on hand to watch practice. Head coach Todd Bowles confirmed after practice that they expect the first-round pick to be ready for Week 1 against Cincinnati.
• Veteran inside linebacker Alex Anzalone didn’t practice Wednesday. Christian Rozeboom and SirVocea Dennis were still out as well, leaving Tampa Bay thin at the position.
• Outside linebacker Chris Braswell, cornerback Josh Hayes and wide receiver Jalen McMillan did not travel with the team to Jacksonville this week.
• In addition to those three, Justin Skule and Emeka Egbuka were in attendance Wednesday morning but were still held out of practice.
• After practice, Todd Bowles said he hasn’t yet made a decision as far as which quarterback will start Friday night against the Jaguars. Rookie Jalon Daniels got the bulk of the QB2 reps Tuesday, and on Wednesday, he was the only quarterback other than Baker Mayfield to get reps during 7-on-7s.

Bucs QBs Baker Mayfield and Jalon Daniels, QBs coach Chandler Whitmer and QB Jalon Daniels and RB Barika Kpeenu – Photo by: Kat Beutel/PR

• The starters will not play Friday night, Bowles said, but he would like to see cornerback Benjamin Morrison get out there for some snaps. He said whether Morrison goes or not is still undecided as of right now.
• The Bucs and Jaguars will meet again for the preseason finale Friday at 7:30 p.m. at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville.

The Pewter Report Podcast Recaps Each Bucs Training Camp Practice

For more coverage on Wednesday’s Bucs-Jaguars joint practice, watch the Pewter Report Podcast – presented by Prize Picks – on the PewterReportTV YouTube channel. Wednesday’s show goes LIVE at 4:00 p.m., or you can catch it afterward on PewterReportTV or your preferred podcast platform.