It was a lighter practice for the Bucs on Thursday morning as it was the last one before their first preseason game of the year against the Bengals coming up this Saturday in Cincinnati. The weather was a hot and humid as we’ve come accustomed to in Tampa with very little cloud coverage over the session of practice.

Despite there being no fans in the stands to give the extra boost of energy to the players, the Bucs still brought a lot of effort to in this practice finale before the game. Tampa Bay players wore shells, shorts and helmets. After everything wrapped, Todd Bowles said that the vast majority of starters will not play on Saturday. It looked like they got a head start on some time off, as many starters had much more limited reps then they have had on other days. But this gave us a look at some younger players that stepped up with increased opportunities.

Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds, Matt Matera, Adam Slivon and Isaiah Delgado were in attendance this morning. Here were their observations.

Bucs Who Were Not Practicing

The new addition to players that did not participate was surprisingly second year defensive tackle Calijah Kancey. While Kancey warmed up with teammates and was there for installs, he did not have a helmet on him and stayed on the sideline as the Bucs went to 11-on-11s. Veteran Will Gholston got the first start for the defense.

Besides Kancey, it was the same cast that were all out again for the Bucs. Strong safety Jordan Whitehead, outside linebacker Yaya Diaby, inside linebacker SirVocea Dennis, outside linebacker Shaun Peterson Jr, wide receivers Sterling Shepard and Kameron Johnson and running back Chase Edmonds all did not participate. Outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka continued to not practice in 11-on-11s either.

The Ends Justify The Means As OLBs Stand Out With More Reps

With Yaya Diaby and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka being out of action due to injury and six-year pro Anthony Nelson getting fewer reps on Thursday due to his veteran status at the top of the depth chart, this gave tons of opportunities to rookie Chris Braswell and second-year pass rushers Markees Watts and Jose Ramirez. All three really stood out given the increased number of reps that were given.

Bucs OLB Chris Braswell – Photo by: Cliff Welch P/R

Braswell started off by showing a keen sense of awareness and football I.Q. on an opening play in 11-on-11s where Baker Mayfield scrambled to his left. Braswell had to cut off where Mayfield was running to while also covering wide receiver Chris Godwin in the flat and staying in front of him to not allow a reception. Braswell read it perfectly as backside pursuit forced Mayfield to scramble across the line of scrimmage where Braswell made the stop and prevented a pass from being thrown.

Later on in practice, Braswell showed off more of his ability as a football player by dropping back into coverage and recording an interception off Baker Mayfield. Braswell looked comfortable in coverage and read the ball well catching it cleanly. Head coach Todd Bowles asks a lot of his outside linebackers when it comes to dropping in  coverage, which not every edge rusher is familiar with, but Braswell played the part.

Watts may not have intercepted the ball, but he had a very impressive pass break up while covering Jalen McMillan of all people. It was a short out route for McMillan but that’s a difficult task for an outside linebacker to cover a receiver, especially with a guy like McMillan that has impressed so far. Watts later had a sack on Baker Mayfield.

Ramirez had one of his better days as an overall outside linebacker and pass rusher. His smaller size limits his abilities on every down, but Ramirez did a great job setting the edge in the run game, turning the running backs inside back towards where other defenders are. Having a great deal of speed, which is arguably the best part of his game, Ramirez was able to turn the corner against offensive tackles on several occasions. He recorded a sack on the day as well.

Surprise Defensive Tackles Have Great Day

Bucs OLBs Chris Braswell, Eric Banks and Jose Ramirez – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

We’re all aware of defensive tackles Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey with how they’ll help the team as starters. Thursday’s practice saw a lot of reserve players at that position lobbying for a roster spot.

Eric Banks is a name to watch as the preseason rolls on. He showed fantastic burst early in practice getting a sack on the quarterback in mere seconds. He went right through the offensive line and was in the face of the passer before he was even finished with his drop back steps. Later on he was stout in the run.

C.J. Brewer, who was on Tampa Bay’s practice squad last season, recorded a sack on John Wolford and also made other plays in the run game. Brad Culpepper recorded a sack while Earnest Brown and Lwal Ugak were others that impressed particularly in stuffing the offensive line without allowing the offense to gain forward momentum.

TE Devin Culp Shows Off His Acrobatic Style

Day in and day out tight end rookie Devin Culp just continues to get better. He looks very comfortable in the offense understanding where he needs to be on a route and has found chemistry with Kyle Trask and John Wolford in these two weeks of training camp.

Bucs TE Devin Culp – Photo by: Cliff Welch P/R

It took a little longer for him to get going compared to his efficiency from the previous days, but when Culp was on he caught everybody’s attention. Culp made a great jumping catch in the end zone for a touchdown with Keenan Isaac in coverage on him. Culp had to spin a little to adjust the football and also collided with Isaac, but held onto the football.

His best play came shortly thereafter as Culp made a fantastic, jumping, one-handed catch on a throw that was little high for him, but he made the reception. It was one of those plays where you wished the crowd was in attendance for because they would have had a raucous applause and ovation. Instead it was just several media members and Bucs personnel going “Woah!” over the rookie’s acrobatic catch.

There’s no guarantee that Culp makes the Bucs team as a seventh-round pick, especially because there’s a chance that the Bucs only keep three tight ends on the active roster. But he is making a good case to for that last spot, or at worst,  the practice squad.

Observations And Highlights From Day 12 Of Bucs Camp

Bucs DT Logan Hall – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

• Don’t forget about second-year player Christian Izien when it comes to all the defensive backs making play. He had a big-time practice on Thursday, recording an interception and a sack on a blitz. The interception came off of Kyle Trask as his throw was slightly behind Jalen McMillan. It went off McMillan’s hands and Izien was the beneficiary. Along with the sack he had a tackle for loss too.

• Rookie center Graham Barton is going through some growing pains at the moment, but that was to be expected. Some of the aforementioned defensive tackles looking for a roster spot were able to throw him down on a number of reps. It’s not cause for concern just yet, but something to monitor for Saturday’s game.

• Rookie Tykee Smith got the start at nickel for practice. He had a nice pass breakup early into the session. No interceptions just yet but it looks like it’s coming soon.

• Defensive tackle Logan Hall ended a very good week, recording a sack. He’s riding off the momentum of his interception from last weekend. It’s an important season for Hall so it’s good to see him create some pressure along the line.

Bucs WR Jalen McMillan – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

• Outside linebacker Antonio Grier Jr. talks a lot of trash at practice. Every day you can hear him barking something at the opposition. Today he had a sack and a tackle for loss, so he was a little bit louder.

• Quarterback Kyle Trask and wide receiver Cody Thompson picked up right where they left off. They connected again for two huge passing plays down the field with the second one resulting in a touchdown. Look for their chemistry in the preseason as Trask gets the start.

• Wide receiver Jalen McMillan had been a little quiet in the previous days of practice, but was more present today. He had some nice catches down the field on throws from Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask. McMillan did have one drop and also probably should have held onto the ball that ended up being the Izien pick, but it was good to see him back in the mix making plays for the offense.

The next time everyone sees the Bucs play, it will be in the preseason opener on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday night.