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The Bucs completed their fourth practice in a row during the week. With a preseason game looming on Saturday, Tampa Bay didn’t practice for too long, getting just a little bit of work in. Because of that, we have to nitpick a little bit with the studs, but mostly the duds part of this article. So keep that in mind when reading this.

Pewter Report’s Matt Matera handled the studs and duds list on Thursday while Pewter Reporters Bailey Adams, Josh Queipo and Kat Buetel were also in attendance.

Studs From Day 15 Of Training Camp

CB Zyon McCollum

It was a welcomed sight to have McCollum back on the field as the Buccaneers are clearly slowly ramping him up to playing more consistently. When he was in, McCollum was all systems go. He used his trademark speed in downfield coverage on wide receiver Tez Johnson, knocking the ball away for a pass breakup. After initially saying that McCollum won’t play on Saturday, Todd Bowles did give it a possibility speaking after practice. We’ll see if he’s a go against the Chiefs.

WR Chris Godwin Jr. 

Another practice, another practice where Godwin is scoring touchdowns. Nobody on offense outside of Baker Mayfield is understanding the offense like he is. To say that Godwin is as fast as he once was wouldn’t be true, but he’s holding up against younger players and defenders that have more speed. He’s finding ways to get the job done and has shown he can adjust several years into his playing career.

Bucs WR Chris Godwin Jr. and OC Zac Robinson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

WR Tez Johnson 

During the beginning of training camp, Johnson was dazzling with some big plays and touchdowns down the field. That returned as he had his second practice in a row working in Tampa Bay’s offense since a groin injury a few weeks ago. Johnson looked a lot more comfortable on Thursday, being able to spring himself open deep down the field, catching a deep ball for a touchdown. All that time off didn’t slow him down at all.

NT Vita Vea

The man got paid! How could he not be on this list!? While Vea did not practice, he was in great spirits this morning chatting it up with general manager Jason Licht after agreeing to a new contract extension that will pay him $48 million between this season and next season.

Besides that, it was nice to hear Vea talk about how he never wanted to leave Tampa and why he wants to be a Buccaneer for life. Vea also vehemently defended Todd Bowles, saying he’s not the one to blame for last season’s failures while separately discussing his excitement for this upcoming season. Cornerback Benjamin Morrison also mentioned Vea as a player that’s been a big mentor to him during his injury struggles, lending an ear to the young player. We don’t get to see a lot of Vea behind the scenes as a leader and team captain, so it was terrific insight into who he is as a person in the locker room.

From Day 15 Of Training Camp

OLB Yaya Diaby

As previously stated, this duds list is going to have a high level of nitpicking considering it was a shortened day and not a ton of reps were done compared to all of the previous practices. With that caveat, Diaby had an offsides penalty during 11-on-11s giving the offense an extra five yards. We love seeing the Buccaneers defense being aggressive but sometimes players will jump the gun too soon. That was the case for the edge rusher Diaby on this play, and the fourth-year veteran has to know better.

Bucs OLB Yaya Diaby – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

QB Connor Bazelak 

In this ongoing quarterback competition between Jake Browning, Jalon Daniels and Bazelak, it feels like Bazelak is losing steam the most. Browning has looked to fully recover from his back injury the other day and Daniels has been the talk of the town after his preseason debut, getting more reps in practice this week. Bazelak had some opportunities today and didn’t do a lot with it. The competition is not over by any means, and the games themselves hold a lot of weight, but Bazelak needs to pick it up and have a good showing on Saturday night against Kansas City.