Following Memorial Day Weekend, the Bucs were back together at the AdventHealth Training Center Tuesday morning for OTAs (organized team activities). This is a voluntary phase of the offseason, so there were predictably some veteran players absent from practice.

Tampa Bay will continue OTAs into next week before holding its mandatory mini-camp from June 10-12. After that, the team will head off into the summer before coming back for training camp at the end of July.

Tuesday’s OTA practice was the first that media had access to, and Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds, Matt Matera and Bailey Adams were on hand to watch everything unfold. Plus, after practice, Pewter Report was in attendance for press conferences with head coach Todd Bowles, center Graham Barton, cornerback Zyon McCollum and wide receiver Jalen McMillan.

Here are Pewter Report’s observations and takeaways from Tuesday at One Buc Place:

Bucs Had Strong Attendance For Tuesday’s OTA, But No Haason Reddick

With OTAs being voluntary, there are always some key absences from practices, though they may vary on a day-to-day basis. On Tuesday morning, the likes of Tristan Wirfs, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Lavonte David, Vita Vea and new outside linebacker Haason Reddick were not on the practice field. Luke Goedeke and Michael Pratt were also later arrivals to practice, though Goedeke did his work on the side of the field and Pratt only watched.

Bucs OLB Haason Reddick – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

There were some key veterans and returning players who did show up for practice, though, and that group included Baker Mayfield, Graham Barton, Ben Bredeson, Cody Mauch, Jalen McMillan, Cade Otton, Bucky Irving, Rachaad White, Calijah Kancey, Yaya Diaby, Zyon McCollum and Antoine Winfield Jr.

After practice, head coach Todd Bowles said he was pleased with the turnout from his team.

“There was a lot,” Bowles said. “Some guys are nicked up, and we understand that. There probably is about seven of them missing, probably five of them are nicked up a little bit. But we understand where they are and they’re training and we keep in contact and everything else. So, the turnout we had today was great and gives the guys a chance to get more reps and get the system down.”

Bowles was then asked if he expects to see the newly signed Reddick at OTAs, and he said that he’s sure the veteran pass rusher will be around at some point coming up. The Bucs aren’t worried about Reddick’s absence – yet.

Bucs DBs Still Need To Turn PBUs Into INTs

Tuesday’s practice was a particularly strong one for the Bucs secondary, with plenty of players getting their hands on passes and breaking them up. However, the only interception of the day came from linebacker SirVocea Dennis and as encouraging as it was to see the defensive backs flying around, the prevailing feeling was that it was a lot of the same old, with those guys being around the ball but failing to take it away.

Jamel Dean had a pass breakup that should’ve been an interception before rookie Jacob Parrish had a PBU of his own. Then, near the end of practice, Zyon McCollum had pass breakups on back-to-back plays.

“I am PO’d,” McCollum said after practice. “And [Todd] Bowles let me know first, of course I knew he would. As soon as I got up, he was like, ‘You’d be a fantastic player if you could just catch those balls.”

Earlier in practice, Bowles let Dean hear it from across the field.

“Yeah, Dean, he doesn’t even have to mess up for him to hear Bowles,” McCollum said.

To be fair, the message has remained the same from Bowles all offseason. He wants ballhawks. He wants more takeaways.

“I’d like to see more interceptions,” Bowles said after practice. “We’ve been breaking up the passes, so we’ve got to come down with them.”

OTAs Is A Fresh Start For The 2025 Bucs

For a lot of the newer Bucs, OTAs is a chance to get their feet wet with their new team and get used to the Tampa heat, as well as their new teammates. But for returning players, this is one of the first chances to come back together as a team following their disappointing home loss to the Commanders in the NFC Wild Card round back in January.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Of course, Tampa Bay looked primed to take the lead in the fourth quarter of that game until an early snap from then-rookie center Graham Barton proved costly. It came on a third-down play deep in Commanders territory, and rather than a first down, a chance to bleed more clock and an opportunity to take a late lead, the Bucs had to settle for a game-tying field goal. The offense never saw the ball again after that, with Washington going down the field to kick a game-winning field goal as time expired.

During Tuesday’s press conference, Barton was asked how difficult it’s been to let that loss (and that mistake) go. But while the second-year center said it’s been tough, he also said lessons were learned from that situation and it’s time to turn the page. In some ways, it was a good reminder from the soon-to-be 23-year-old that Tampa Bay has a fresh start in 2025, as well as a chance to get better and go deeper into the playoffs.

“I think this league is a man’s league and stuff’s gonna happen. Mistakes are gonna be made, obviously it’s one that keeps you up at night for a while,” Barton said. “You’ve just got to move forward. You’ve got to continue to get better. It’s a new season, put everything in the past behind you. What you’ve got to tell yourself, too, is it’s a team game, man. Everyone makes mistakes. Things happen. Obviously, I take full ownership of snapping the ball early down there at the end of the game.

“But as a team, I don’t think we did enough to win that game and definitely should have. And I think that’s something we talked about. For as good as we were on offense last year, we still got beat at home in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. So, it just shows, I think it’s another lesson, too, that what can do in the regular season doesn’t really matter as soon as playoffs hit. It’s a new season from there. Learned that lesson the hard way in year one. Happy to have some of that experience under my belt. Continue to improve and be in better shape to make a run this year.”

Other Observations From Bucs OTAs: 5-27

• Rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka made a spectacular catch in team drills late in practice, stretching out to haul in a pass near the sideline from Baker Mayfield.
• Another rookie, outside linebacker David Walker, continued to make a spectacular impression early on in his first NFL offseason. After some dominant play during rookie mini-camp, Walker’s ability to seemingly teleport into the backfield was once again on display Tuesday morning on multiple reps – one versus the run and one on a pass play that would have been a sack.
• Do-it-all defensive back Christian Izien was in attendance for Tuesday’s practice, but he watched from the side and did not participate.
• With Lavonte David absent, Anthony Walker Jr. played the starting linebacker spot next to SirVocea Dennis. Todd Bowles said after practice that Walker and Dennis are already hitting it off well and that it feels like Walker has been here all along with the way he knows the playbook.
• Speaking of the playbook, second-year wide receiver Jalen McMillan had plenty of praise for Emeka Egbuka’s knowledge of it. McMillan said the first-round pick takes practice very seriously and already knows “damn-near half the playbook.”