What started out as an overcast, breezy Tuesday morning turned into another hot one as the Bucs got in one final practice before the Dolphins come in for the next couple of days. The team was in shells, with minimal contact throughout the day. Intensity will skyrocket on Wednesday when Tampa Bay welcomes Miami to town.

Back-to-Back Days Off For Some Bucs

The Bucs had the day off from practice on Monday, so Tuesday’s practice gave them a chance to rest a few guys on back-to-back days. Akiem Hicks and Donovan Smith were among those who received veteran days off. Meanwhile, Troy Warner, Jojo Ozougwu, Breshad Perriman and Mike Evans were held out of practice once again. Evans, however, was seen running off to the side on his own before practice began. Josh Wells was also missing from practice, and for good reason.

Receivers Get A Chance To Make Plays In Light Practice

With the team in shells, the energy for 11-on-11s was generally pretty steady. The Bucs were understandably guarding against injuries the best they could, with little contact. But the team’s receivers had a chance to put good reps on tape. Julio Jones stood out with a couple of big catches, making one rolling reception over the middle before later catching a touchdown pass from Tom Brady.

Tampa Bay’s depth receivers also stood out in 11-on-11s. Jaelon Darden was a standout performer, making a couple of outstretched grabs near the sideline. Tyler Johnson and Scotty Miller both came through with nice sideline catches themselves, while Cyril Grayson Jr. managed to get in on the action as well. Jerreth Sterns was another one who made some nice catches over the middle of the field, one of which came on a ball he bobbled about three times before coming down with it.

The players in the mix for Tampa Bay’s remaining receiver positions have all done well for themselves throughout training camp so far. The competition will heat up over the next few days and into the preseason, but so far, they’ve all made it difficult on the coaches to make their roster decisions at the end of the month.

More Shuffling With The Offensive Line

Bucs LG Brandon Walton – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

With Smith and Wells both having the day off from practice, Brandon Walton continued to display his impressive versatility by stepping in at left tackle. Smith was seen after practice giving him some pointers, while Bucs head coach Todd Bowles spoke about the importance of that versatility after practice.

“You’ve got to be versatile on the O-line,” Bowles said. “You can’t carry all backups, so somebody’s got to be either a guard-center combination or a tackle-guard combination or both sides. It is the more you can do, [the better] when you’re talking about that spot.”

As for the left guard battle, Nick Leverett was taking reps with the starters on Tuesday. He’s still firmly in the mix for the starting job with Aaron Stinnie and rookie Luke Goedeke. That competition could go all the way until the end of the preseason before the team makes a decision. Bowles said Tuesday that each guy needs a chance to compete for the spot.

“Right at the end, you should know. We should know. We’ve got to give those guys a chance to compete and play. To put them in two or three plays at a time doesn’t build the continuity, so we’ve got to stick a man with the first group and let him go, stick the next guy in at another time and let him go, stick the next guy in at another time and let him go. We’ll make our decision then. We’ve got to build some continuity. You can’t say he gets three, he gets four … I would say around Indianapolis.”

In other words, the Bucs won’t settle on a starting left guard until Week 3 of the preseason at the earliest.

Bucs Running Backs Getting In On The Passing Game

As involved as Tampa Bay’s receivers were in the passing game during Tuesday’s practice, its running backs got a lot of work in as well. Rachaad White, Giovani Bernard, Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Kenjon Barner were all heavily featured in passing drills, with each Bucs quarterback often looking for the check-down option during 11-on-11s.

Vaughn’s hands have looked much-improved so far during camp, while Bernard and Barner have been as steady as ever when catching the ball. White, the third-round pick out of Arizona State, is also showing off his potential to contribute as a receiving back right away.

A Better Day For Trask

It had been a rough few days for second-year quarterback Kyle Trask. With this week being a big one for him given the exposure he’ll get against the Dolphins in practice and in Saturday’s game, it’s important that he shakes off the run of interceptions he found himself in at the end of last week.

Trask took a positive step forward on Tuesday, not only finishing the day without an interception, but also looking sharper on his downfield passes. He connected with rookie Kaylon Geiger on a couple of big passes over the middle, plus he hit Vyncint Smith for a big play.

Bowles has often praised his decisiveness throughout training camp, and that was on display for much of Tuesday’s practice. Now, it’ll be about Trask stringing those good days together leading into Saturday’s preseason opener. Especially with the Dolphins coming to town.