The Bucs embark on their 10th training camp practice on Tuesday, August 6 and the interceptions are piling up.

By Pewter Report’s count, there have been 14 interceptions through the first nine Bucs training camp practices.

That’s not exactly the kind of news that Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen wants to hear, but for head coach and defensive play-caller Todd Bowles, that’s a welcome sight.

Kind of.

“Depending on which side of the fence I’m playing that day… If I’m on the defensive side, that’s great,” Bowles said after practice on Friday, August 2. “If I’m on the offensive side, we never want turnovers. It’s a time to experiment and try things out and get your reads down, so it’s not a problem at this time, but we know we can’t have them in the game.”

So who has been the top interceptor through the first week and a half of training camp, and which quarterback has thrown the most picks so far? Let’s take a look.

Bucs Training Camp Interceptions Through The First 9 Practices

Pewter Report has done its best to log the interception total through the first nine training camp practices in 2024. Only interceptions in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 count, so any that have occurred in 1-on-1 drills are not counted. This is Pewter Report’s unofficial tally of the nine practices – two of which did not see a pass get picked off by the Bucs defense.

7-24: DB Tavierre Thomas on QB Kyle Trask (deflection off tipped pass)
7-25: – NONE –
7-26: OLB Antonio Grier on QB John Wolford
7-26: CB Keenan Isaac on QB John Wolford
7-26: DB Tavierre Thomas on QB John Wolford
7-26: SS Jordan Whitehead on QB Baker Mayfield (Hail Mary)
7-28: CB Jamel Dean on QB Baker Mayfield (deflection off tipped pass)
7-28: CB Zyon McCollum on QB Baker Mayfield (no one around/bad read)
7-28: ILB SirVocea Dennis on QB Kyle Trask (pick-6)
7-29: – NONE –
7-30: S Rashad Wisdom on QB John Wolford
7-30: DB Tavierre Thomas on QB Baker Mayfield (pick-6)
8-1: CB Bryce Hall on John Wolford
8-2: CB Jamel Dean on QB Baker Mayfield
8-2: ILB Vi Jones on QB John Wolford
8-3: DT Logan Hall on QB Kyle Trask (pick-6)

Bucs OLB Shaq Barrett – Photo by: USA Today

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles has seen his defense come away with multiple interceptions in four out of the nine training camp practices thus far. Tampa Bay recorded just 13 INTs last year and only 10 the year before during the 2022 season. The Bucs haven’t recorded an interception in the last four playoff games, either. Tampa Bay’s last interception in the postseason came against Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts in the 2021 Wild Card win.

The most interceptions that the Bucs defense has had under Bowles since he took over as defensive coordinator in 2019 was 17, which came in the 2021 regular season. That year 11 different Tampa Bay defenders came up with those picks – led by Mike Edwards’ three.

“Everybody on defense has to do that,” Bowles said after practice on Monday, July 28 when his defense produced three INTs. “We got our hands on some balls today – we’ve got to continue to do that.”

14 INTs By The Defense In 9 Bucs Training Camp Practices

So far in camp defensive back Tavierre Thomas, who plays both safety and nickelback, leads the team with three interceptions. A total of 10 interceptions have come from the secondary with three more coming from the inside linebacker corps and one from defensive tackle Logan Hall, who dropped in coverage on Sunday and intercepted backup quarterback Kyle Trask for a pick-six.

3 INTs – DB Tavierre Thomas
2 INTs – CB Jamel Dean
1 INT – CB Zyon McCollum
1 INT – CB Bryce Hall
1 INT – CB Keenan Isaac
1 INT – SS Jordan Whitehead
1 INT – S Rashad Wisdom
1 INT – ILB SirVocea Dennis
1 INT – OLB Antonio Grier
1 INT – ILB Vi Jones
1 INT – DT Logan Hall

Bucs CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Cornerback Jamel Dean is second on the team with a pair of interceptions in Bucs training camp thus far. Dean did not pick off a pass last year and his last interception came in Week 2 of the 2022 season when he had a pair of picks in a win at New Orleans.

“Yeah, it is a big emphasis,” Dean said of coming away with more interceptions in 2024. “I know last year, I dropped like five interceptions. That is what separates you from Pro-Bowl and All-Pro [selections] and, basically, the rankings. So now, I just want to [emphasize] because I am putting myself in the right situations, but I just have to finish.”

Fellow starting cornerback Zyon McCollum led the Bucs in interceptions during the offseason (OTAs and mandatory mini-camp) but has only come up with one interception so far. His goal is to lead Tampa Bay with six interceptions in 2024.

“I’m trying to [be] a big-time playmaker,” McCollum said. “I want to make my name heard all across the league. I want to put my hands on balls. I’ve been telling my wife all offseason that I’m trying to get six interceptions, and I just keep repeating that over and over and over again. If I don’t get it, I will be disappointed because that’s what I’ve been working on over and over and over again. I’m not going to sell myself short; I’m shooting for the stars.”

Interception Totals For Bucs Quarterbacks In Camp

Pewter Report’s unofficial interception tally for the quarterbacks is as follows:

6 INTs – QB John Wolford
5 INTs – QB Baker Mayfield
3 INTs – QB Kyle Trask

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and OC Liam Coen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Third-string quarterback John Wolford had a rough day on July 26, which was the third day of training camp where he threw three interceptions. He has since thrown three more to lead all Bucs quarterbacks with six.

This is a bit surprising because Wolford was pretty sharp in training camp last summer, which was his first year in Tampa Bay. And Wolford knows Liam Coen’s offense better than anyone having spent three seasons with the Los Angeles Rams.

But not every interception is the quarterback’s fault, as sometimes there is a miscommunication between the QB and the receiver in terms of running the correct route.

That’s been the case with some of Baker Mayfield’s interceptions so far. Mayfield’s first pick came on a Hail Mary pass at the end of a period, which was intercepted by safety Jordan Whitehead. That was a predicated throw practiced in a Hail Mary situation, so Mayfield had no choice but to throw it up for grabs and Whitehead came down with it.

Mayfield’s second interception came on a deflected pass by linebacker Lavonte David, who tipped the ball up in the air and cornerback Jamel Dean came down with it. Later in the same practice, Mayfield threw a deep out and there wasn’t a receiver within 15 yards of the pass, which seemed like an obvious miscommunication. Cornerback Zyon McCollum tracked down Mayfield’s errant toss for his lone camp interception.

Since then Mayfield has thrown a pair of more legitimate picks in which the defense made a great play on the ball. Tavierre Thomas and Dean have come down with those INTs.

Backup quarterback Kyle Trask has thrown the least amount of interceptions thus far, but his last two interceptions have been pick-sixes where he has clearly not seen the defender in the middle of the field. Inside linebacker SirVocea Dennis caught Trask staring down a receiver in the red zone and jumped the route, taking the interception back for a potential 95-yard, would-be score down the sidelines.

In Tampa Bay’s last practice on Sunday, Trask threw what was the worst interception in camp thus far. He didn’t see defensive tackle Logan Hall dropping into coverage right in the middle of the field and literally hit Hall between the nine and the zero on his No. 90 jersey. This practice period took place with the Bucs offense backed up in the shadow of its own end zone, so Hall took his interception back about 15 yards for an easy pick-six.