The Bucs begin Phase Three of their 2022 offseason program on Tuesday with their first week of OTAs (organized team activities). The OTAs are voluntary and it’s the first time NFL teams can go offense vs. defense with coaches present.

There are three weeks of OTAs, with the Bucs practicing Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday each week. OTAs are open to the media on Tuesday, May 17, Wednesday, May 25 and Wednesday, June 1. Then, the Bucs will hold their mandatory mini-camp, which will be open to the media, from June 7-9 before breaking for the summer. Tampa Bay will begin training camp the last week in July – date and time to be determined.

Here is a quick preview of what Pewter Report will be looking for in the first Bucs OTAs with new head coach Todd Bowles in charge.

Will Brady Show Up?

Tom Brady showed up for on-field work during Phase Two of the offseason program last week, throwing and practicing with his teammates. That was a bit of a surprise, as Brady has typically skipped offseason work in New England during his final seasons up there.

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Brady did summon his new teammates for summer work at Berkeley Prep in Tampa in 2020 when the offseason was cancelled due to COVID-19. Last year, after winning Super Bowl LV, Bruce Arians told the veterans to stay away from OTAs as the coaches wanted to work with the younger players and give them more reps. Brady worked out a few times with the veterans at the New York Yankees’ training facility next door to Raymond James Stadium.

While Brady attended workouts at the team facility last week, will he take part in OTAs this week? He was seen on social media spending time up in New York promoting his new Brady brand of clothes. Perhaps the plan was to show up last week so he could skip this week in order to give second-year quarterback Kyle Trask more reps in practice.

“Well, if Tom is here, he is going to get his reps, but Kyle will get some reps as well,” Bowles said. “He will get some reps in the summer, and we will get to see what he can do this preseason. He will get all of his reps then. It’s voluntary again. Whether Tom is here or not, we understand we’ve got to coach the guys that are in here. When he’s here, that’s great for us.”

First Look At New Veterans

The Bucs rookie mini-camp served as the first glimpse at Logan Hall, Luke Goedeke, Rachaad White, Jake Camarda, Zyon McCollum, Ko Kieft and Andre Anthony. Now, we get a look at Tampa Bay’s new veteran additions. While OTAs are voluntary, the new Bucs will likely be there to further acclimate themselves to the offense and defense, respectively.

We expect to get our first look at guard Shaq Mason, wide receiver Russell Gage, strong safety Keanu Neal, defensive back Logan Ryan and defensive tackle Deadrin Senat. Mason replaces Alex Cappa as the starting right guard, and Gage replaces Antonio Brown as a starter in three-receiver sets. Neal and Logan will compete for playing time with strong safety Mike Edwards and nickel cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting, and could wind up as starters.

The Trask Show Over The Next 3 Weeks?

Bucs quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen revealed that the team’s offseason plan was to get Trask as many reps as possible during the next three weeks to evaluate him. Trask spent his rookie year serving a redshirt season as the team’s fourth-string quarterback. The Florida product worked on his conditioning, gaining a quicker release and improved footwork. But he didn’t take many reps in practice, and when he did, it was scout team reps running opponents’ offenses.

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

“I think he continues to progress,” Christensen said. “It continues to be hard to get him enough reps. This will really be a great couple of weeks here, the OTAs. We’re going to put a priority on getting him reps and see what he’s like. It’s just hard to judge anyone until you get quality reps against a defense. That’s one of our goals in this camp.

“We’ve got three other veteran guys, who really don’t need a ton of it. So, we’re going to get him a bunch of reps to get a good, good look at him. I think he continues to progress and I’m glad we didn’t have to find out opening day this year. That gives us another year to keep developing him and see. This offseason, that’s one of the priorities.”

Bowles contradicted Christensen in saying that Trask will compete with Blaine Gabbert for the backup job behind Brady. Trask will need a good showing in the OTAs to make Bowles’ belief turn into reality.

Left Guard Battle Starts Now

Due to his talent and draft status, Goedeke figures to be the favorite to eventually start at left guard. But Aaron Stinnie has the most experience and will be Goedeke’s biggest test to replace Ali Marpet. It will be interesting to see who starts at left guard in OTAs and who gets the most reps.

Nick Leverett and Robert Hainsey will also factor into the competition at left guard. How many reps they get and who ultimately progresses will be interesting to see. This battle will continue into training camp and through the preseason, but it starts on Tuesday in OTAs.

Rookie vs. Veteran Clashes

Goedeke is built like a block of granite and it will be interesting to see how he fares against 347-pound Vita Vea in practice. The Bucs’ second-round pick didn’t actually get too many reps in 11-on-11s during the rookie mini-camp. The coaches were likely holding him back to see him go against NFL-caliber talent this week. It’s one thing to see Goedeke manhandle a tryout player who will be selling cars or insurance next week.

Bucs DT Logan Hall – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

It’s another thing entirely to see him square off against a massive Pro Bowl nose tackle like Vea. The pads don’t come on until August, but there will be some pushing and shoving in the trenches in May and early June between Goedeke and Vea.

We’ll also see Goedeke face off against Hall in a battle of second-round picks. Hall is the team’s starting three-technique defensive tackle and will go up against a brute in the Central Michigan product, in addition to a quicker, undersized vet like Mason. The 6-foot-6 Hall will have his pad level tested by the 6-foot-1 Mason in practice.

And then Hall will have to deal with Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen on some double-teams, too. It’s rare for rookie defensive tackles to come into the league and make a splash as a rookie. Even Bucs Hall of Famer Warren Sapp only had three sacks as a rookie in 1995.

It will also be interesting to see how McCollum fares against pro receivers like Mike Evans and Gage. Evans presents a challenge in the fact that the future Hall of Famer is big, physical and crafty. Just because they went to the same high school in Galveston, Texas, doesn’t mean the 6-foot-5 Evans will go easy on the 6-foot-2 rookie.

Gage presents a different challenge in that he’s faster and quicker than Evans. McCollum was one of the fastest, most agile and most athletic cornerbacks at the NFL Scouting Combine. We’ll see how McCollum fares against Gage in practice, too.