After a day off on Wednesday, the Bucs were back on the practice fields at the AdventHealth Training Center Thursday morning. With a “feels like” temperature of 97 degrees and little cloud cover, it was an especially hot one for Tampa Bay. Cornerback Zyon McCollum certainly felt it, getting sick on the sideline between fields one and two as trainers cooled him down and got him ready to go back onto the field. There were quite a few water breaks throughout practice, which ran a little bit longer – going from 8:30 a.m. until about 10:45 a.m.

Bucs Not Practicing Today

OLB Charles Snowden

Snowden didn’t suit up for Thursday’s practice and instead looked on as the team got back on the field. There wasn’t anything noticeably bothering him (no brace/boot/anything of that sort), so it could just be a minor knock for the 6-foot-7, 240-pound outside linebacker out of Virginia. Nonetheless, he’ll be someone to monitor on Friday and as camp continues this weekend.

Bucs CB Carlton Davis III – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

CB Carlton Davis Makes Limited Return

After missing two practices with what head coach Todd Bowles said was a bruised shoulder, Davis returned to the field Thursday morning. But with the team in shells (helmets/shoulder pads/shorts), Davis worked out in just shorts and his jersey.

Slight Changes In Thursday’s Practice Structure

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles spoke Tuesday night about the team’s practice schedule, which has featured three straight practices and then a day off before the next three. It’s something that Tampa Bay decided to do in hopes of keeping players fresh and minimizing injuries.

“Usually about the fourth day you start to pull something here and there,” Bowles said. “They have to have a day off each week anyways. Just sitting down in the offseason with everybody – trainers, strength coaches and nutritionists. We felt that was the best way to get some rest and maximize the effort on the playing field.”

There were a couple more interesting wrinkles when the Bucs returned to practice Thursday morning. Most noticeably, the team was in shells again rather than full-on pads. That meant a morning with lighter contact. There also appeared to be more (or longer) teaching periods, and there were no 1-on-1 drills. Given the day off Wednesday and a lighter practice Thursday, it’s reasonable to expect Tampa Bay to ramp things up on Friday and Saturday before Sunday’s day off.

Bucs Defense Stands Tall To End Practice

Bucs S Kaevon Merriweather – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Dave Canales’ offense has been able to get the better of Todd Bowles’ defense quite a few times throughout the first week and a half of training camp, but Thursday wouldn’t classify as one of those times.

There weren’t many big plays at all for the offense in Thursday’s practice, with some sloppy quarterback play and some impressive plays in the secondary by the Tampa Bay defense. Christian Izien had a pass breakup during 7-on-7 work before Anthony Chesley later came through with a diving pass breakup in the final 11-on-11 period.

Where Bowles’ defense really won the day was at the end of practice, as both Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask had chances to lead the offense in 11-on-11s. Mayfield’s drive went nowhere, as the defense came through with a fourth-down stop. Trask was able to get the offense down the field on his drive, thanks to completions to David Moore, Kaylon Geiger and David Wells. But after Ronnie Brown was stopped around the 2-yard line on 3rd & Goal, rookie safety Kaevon Merriweather ended practice with a bang.

Running a sort of pick play, Trask took the snap, immediately rolled to his right and threw to rookie tight end Payne Durham. Durham made a good catch, but Merriweather was right there to stop his progress, knocking him out of bounds shy of the goal line. It was a great read by the Iowa product, and he was able to be in the right place to make the play to end practice.

“I know it was like a little hurry-up situation,” Merriweather told Pewter Report after practice. “Something a lot offenses like to do, little pick routes to get the tight end open, so I kind of just played into it, was able to get through the screen and make a play on the ball and just finish the stop.”

Todd Bowles’ Defense Puts The Pressure On

Bucs S Ryan Neal – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Todd Bowles has always been known for his defense bringing pressure in a variety of different ways. He gets creative with his blitzes and will send just about anyone after the quarterback, and that’s something that has continued to be a theme of training camp this year.

Safety Ryan Neal and linebacker Lavonte David both had would-be sacks on Thursday, and both guys – as well as Antoine Winfield Jr. – have been flying in on blitzes often throughout camp.

Neal told Pewter Report after practice that he hasn’t blitzed this much in other defense’s he’s played in.

“Not this much, not really. It’s fun though, I love it,” Neal said. “Give me a shot, give everybody a shot. That’s what I love about this defense, it’s flexible enough that everybody gets their chances. And when you get your chances, you’ve got to take advantage of the opportunity.”

The different looks that Tampa Bay’s defense brings is beneficial for the team’s quarterbacks (and the offense as a whole) as it adjusts to Dave Canales’ system. But come game days, it’s going to be hugely beneficial for the Bucs defense to keep opposing offenses guessing.

“That’s the thing, the offenses in this league are very smart. So the more vanilla you are, the more plain Jane you are, the longer the day you’re going to have,” Neal said. “So when you’re playing against especially great quarterbacks, you’ve got to be able to change the picture up. You’ve got to be able to send different people and different people [have] got to be able to do it. Because that’s just what the game is going to. So it’s a big benefit for us and I’m excited to see where it takes us.”

A Turnover-Free Day For Tampa Bay’s Quarterbacks

While there weren’t many big plays down the field and the Bucs defense probably got the better of the offense overall, the quarterbacks played mistake-free football. It was another clean practice for Kyle Trask in a growing line of them, while Mayfield stopped his interception streak by not turning the ball over for the first time since last Friday. That’s not to say there couldn’t have been interceptions, as Lavonte David nearly picked off Mayfield before Shaq Barrett later got in the backfield and tipped a pass that Rachaad White actually caught for a short gain/

Bucs Practice Observations

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  Bucs WR Russell Gage and WRs coach Brad Idzik – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

  Thursday was Russell Gage’s best practice since returning from his hamstring injury, as he was a featured target throughout the morning. One of his biggest plays of the day came on a connection from John Wolford deep down the right sideline, and he later caught a pass right by the goal line from Baker Mayfield during red zone work.

• In terms of the kicking competition, Chase McLaughlin won the day over Rodrigo Blankenship. McLaughlin connected on his three field goal attempts, while Blankenship missed a short one off the left upright and had another kick (from 53 or 54 yards out) fall short and wide left.
• Mike Evans had another good day, with the highlight being a 30-yard reception on a pass from Baker Mayfield.
• David Moore remained a steady presence for the Bucs in the passing game, catching a few passes from Mayfield, including a touchdown in red zone work.
• Greg Gaines had one of his better camp practices so far, though the team wasn’t in full pads. Still, he stopped Chase Edmonds in the backfield on one play during a red zone period and looked solid overall throughout the morning.