The Bucs continued their second week of the team’s 2023 training camp at the AdventHealth Training Center in Tampa with at night practice on Tuesday evening from 7:00 – 9:15 p.m. The team practiced in the indoor practice facility in climate-controlled conditions. Despite it being cool indoors, tempers did flare at the end of practice.

The Bucs wore full pads on Tuesday night and have Wednesday off before returning to practice on Thursday morning.

Bucs Not Practicing Today

DT Calijah Kancey

Bucs DTs Calijah Kancey and Vita Vea – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Kancey, the team’s first-round pick, will be out for about four weeks with a right calf strain. He attended practice with a leg scooter and was wearing a boot on his injured foot and leg to immobilize it. On Tuesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirmed what Pewter Report reported on Monday night – that Kancey would miss the preseason, but there’s a chance he could return for the season opener at Minnesota on September 10.

“All depends on if and when he gets healthy,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said after Tuesday night’s practice. “If he gets healthy in enough time, obviously he’ll play. If it’s iffy right up until the game, then he might not play. I don’t know when he’s going to come around and get healthy. We’ll monitor it and play it by ear.”

CB Carlton Davis III

Davis missed his second straight practice on Tuesday, but there isn’t a serious injury to be concerned about.

“He bruised his shoulder so we’re just taking care of it,” Bowles said. “We’re just taking it a day at a time.”

Fight Night Under The Lights

The Bucs’ night practice ended with a skirmish in the final period as running back Rachaad White went to catch a Kyle Trask pass near the goal line and got nailed by rookie linebacker Brandon Bouyer-Randle. While the team is in full pads, it was an unnecessary hit and drew a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct by the officials in attendance.

After the play, White got up and took a shot at Bouyer-Randle, while center Robert Hainsey and other offensive players came to White’s defense. Following practice, head coach Todd Bowles said that he addressed that play and others that happened during practice.

“We addressed quite a few plays,” Bowles said. “It wasn’t just that play. There were quite a few plays. We have to take better care of each other. When we’re live, we’re live. When we’re not, we’re not.”

Another play that Bowles alluded to was right tackle Luke Goedeke getting flagged for illegal hands to the face. Goedeke pushed Jose Ramirez’s helmet off his head during the final period.

“We’re in the dog days of camp,” Bowles said. “We don’t have a preseason game this week. You’re pleased and not pleased. Tempers flare. It’s about the time in camp when things get antsy. Now we have to concentrate and focus on fundamentals and technique and be playing smarter. So I’m looking forward to that to increase. We’ve had the out-of-pad days. We’ve had the acclimation of pads. We’ve had the energetic practice. Now we need to focus on the X’s and O’s and understand the execution of it all.

“The energy was good. The energy was good on both sides of the ball. The intelligence was not. The penalties were not. We have to be better than that.”

Kyle Trask Continues To Play Mistake-Free Football

Bucs QB Kyle Trask – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Kyle Trask is on a roll. Since Sunday, the third-year quarterback has been very decisive with his throws, gotten the ball out of his hand quickly, made plays, and avoided interceptions. This is the third practice in a row where Trask, who got the start again on Tuesday, has not turned the ball over and looked like a potential starting quarterback.

Through the first six practices, Trask has thrown just one interception while Baker Mayfield has thrown five, including another one on Tuesday night – this time to rookie cornerback Keenan Isaac.

“It’s a great thing,” Bowles said of Trask. “Their number one responsibility is don’t turn the ball over. Kyle has been doing a good job of not turning it over.”

Trask had a couple of great passes on the night, including a red zone touchdown to Mike Evans in front of nickel cornerback Josh Hayes. And he connected with Payne Durham for a score, in addition to threading a pass in between two defenders to tight end Cade Otton.

Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales spoke before Tuesday’s practice and talked about how Trask’s recent, improved play has tightened the QB race considerably.

Todd Bowles Discusses Bucs’ New Practice Plan

The Bucs have scrapped practicing four days in a row during training camp, a common practice the last couple of years under Bruce Arians and last year under Todd Bowles. Instead, Bowles has modified the practice schedule to feature only three consecutive days of practice and then an off day. The reasoning is to prevent injury. And outside of Calijah Kancey’s calf strain, it’s worked so far.

“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.”

Bucs Practice Observations

• Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans continued his dominant camp on Tuesday night, absolutely torching cornerback Zyon McCollum twice in 1-on-1 drills. McCollum bounced back and had a better practice afterward, but Evans was impossible to guard during the night practice.

• Another wide receiver who shined Tuesday night was rookie Trey Palmer. He smoked cornerback Duron Lowe in 1-on-1s and made some nice catches in team periods.

Bucs WR Trey Palmer – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

• Rookie right guard Cody Mauch has been knocked to the ground a few times by defensive tackle Pat O’Connor in camp, but on Tuesday night, it was Mauch’s turn for revenge. He and starting center Robert Hainsey pancaked second-year defensive tackle Logan Hall with a powerful double-team block in the team’s run period.

• The Bucs worked on kickoff return to start practice, and once again, second-year receiver Deven Thompkins and rookie receiver Rakim Jarrett were back returning kicks.

• Tampa Bay’s defense had quite a few sacks on the night. Of course, no quarterbacks were actually touched, but blitzing safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and outside linebackers Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and YaYa Diaby all registered QB captures.

• Both Bucs kickers missed their deep field goal opportunities after making the first three kicks from closer range. Chase McLaughlin missed a 61-yarder wide left, while Rodrigo Blankenship missed his 58-yarder wide left.

• In red zone 7-on-7 drills, Baker Mayfield, who was the second-team QB, tossed three touchdown passes to tight end Payne Durham (in between two linebackers), and wide receivers Taye Barber (against cornerback Don Gardner and Trey Palmer (against cornerback Derrek Pitts).

Bucs QB John Wolford – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

But the most efficient quarterback in the red zone drills was actually third-string QB John Wolford, who threw four TD passes. He had back-to-back scores to tight end Tanner Taula against safety Ryan Neal and Pitts. Then Wolford hit running back Sean Tucker for a TD against Pitts, and running back Ronnie Brown against linebacker SirVocea Dennis.

“I’ll check the tape,” Bowles said. “Some of the things you guys [the media] say are touchdowns are sacks. You’ve got to check the tape from that standpoint. He’s very smart. He helps the quarterbacks in the room. He’s very accurate, and he knows what he’s doing, and he knows where to go with the football.”

• Baker Mayfield rallied at the end of practice with an amazing deep throw to Deven Thompkins, who did a great job tracking the ball and leaping to haul it in over cornerback Keenan Isaac. It was easily the catch of the night. A few plays later, Mayfield threw a touchdown pass to tight end Dominique Dafney with linebacker Brandon Bouyer-Randle in coverage.