FAB 3. 5 Bucs I Can’t Wait To See In Person

It’s the end of May and usually by now I’ve had the chance to attend the Bucs’ rookie mini-camp and at least a few OTA (organized team activity) practices. But thanks to the COVID-19 outbreak that’s been scrapped. Thankfully, the state of Florida is beginning to open back up and the governor has given the green light for teams to resume practicing. Tampa Bay must wait on the NFL to give the go ahead, and when that might come is still up in the air. But when that day happens, and when the media is allowed to attend the practices at the AdventHealth Training Center, these are the five Buccaneers I can’t wait to see up close and personal.

QB Tom Brady

Is this obvious or what? Bucs general manager Jason Licht and head coach Bruce Arians landed Brady, aka “The Goat,” in free agency on March 21. That was over two months ago, and I have yet to meet Brady or watch him throw a pass in person as the COVID-19 outbreak has forced us to into Zoom conference calls and postponed mini-camps and OTAs until later this summer as the number of cases continues to drop in Florida. Thanks to the governor, Florida became one of the first states to open for sports teams to begin practicing, so it’s only a matter of time before the Bucs are able to hold those mini-camps.

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: Getty Images

I have had the good fortune to cover some of football’s finest in my 24 years covering the Buccaneers, including head coaches Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden, Hall of Famers Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks, some Hall of Fame-caliber players like Ronde Barber, John Lynch and Simeon Rice and some Bucs legends like Hardy Nickerson, Paul Gruber, Tony Mayberry and Mike Alstott. But Brady is simply in another league given his storied 20-year NFL career and league-record six Super Bowl titles. He’s become a larger than life celebrity that transcends the game of football, and will be a blast for me to cover professionally.

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a top-flight, winning quarterback in Tampa Bay – one that knows how to avoid turnovers. There was a marked difference between Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson, a marked difference between Chris Simms and Jeff Garcia, and I think there will be a marked difference between Jameis Winston and Brady, too. I can’t wait to see Brady throw the ball in person and provide the type of leadership and experience needed to take Tampa Bay back to the playoffs.

TE Rob Gronkowski

Like Brady, Gronkowski, a five-time Pro Bowler and three-time Super Bowl champion, knows how to win, and should be an essential element in helping get the Bucs back to the postseason. I’ve watched my share of legends in Tampa Bay since 1995 and I’m looking forward to seeing what type of impact the 31-year old tight end can have in the Bucs offense as he reunites with Brady. I’m also interested to see how he can help improve the games of O.J. Howard, Cameron Brate and the team’s other young tight ends.

Bucs TE Rob Gronkowski – Photo by: Getty Images

While Brady is more businesslike in his approach to football, the gregarious Gronkowski has a wild party animal persona that should be really fun to cover – and to consistently lighten the mood in Bucs’ locker room. The beauty about Gronkowski’s game is that while he has a devil-may-care attitude, he’s an incredibly hard worker, and there is the compelling element to see if he can once again play at a very high level after numerous injuries and a year off.

I’ve had the pleasure to cover some real interesting, colorful characters reporting on the Bucs for over two decades, including Sapp, Rice, Keyshawn Johnson, Brad Culpepper and Chidi Ahanotu among others. Looking forward to the daily interactions with Gronkowski and to seeing him on the practice field soon.

RT Tristan Wirfs

The reason why Wirfs makes this list? His 6-foot-5, 320-pound frame with those huge tree trunk legs that allowed him to run an impressive 4.85 in the 40-yard dash, jump an astonishing 36.5-inch vertical leap and post a stunning 121-inch broad jump. I want to see how massive Wirfs, the Bucs’ first-round pick, is in person.

Bucs RT Tristan Wirfs – Photo by: Getty Images

At just a hair under 6-foot myself, I am amazed by the size of some of the NFL offensive linemen. I’ve had the good fortune to cover some gargantuan O-linemen in my day, including Frank Middleton, Jerry Wunsch, Davin Joseph, Jeremy Trueblood, Carl Nicks, Demar Dotson and Donovan Smith over the years. Wirfs won’t be able to demonstrate any real power until the start of training camp when the pads on, so in the meantime I’ll just have to marvel at his size up close and personal during the interview sessions and during the mini-camps, which appear to be on the horizon.

S Antoine Winfield, Jr.

I could be wrong, but watching this kid’s tape, he’s going to bring something special to the Bucs from an intangible perspective. I love the fact that the Bucs drafted Winfield in the second round, as the team needed a play-making safety capable of creating takeaways. Tampa Bay’s safeties combined for just two interceptions last year, and that’s not good enough for a team aiming to make the playoffs.

Bucs S Antoine Winfield – Photo courtesy of Minnesota

Winfield is undersized at 5-foot-9, and won’t impress me physically the way Wirfs will standing next to him for an interview, but I suspect the Minnesota star safety will impress me on the football field with his instincts and his ball skills. Winfield recorded seven interceptions last year, and his finished his college career with 10 picks, including two pick-sixes. The Bucs have a plethora of good – but not great – safeties. I have a feeling Winfield is going to be a great one. Time will tell.

RB Raymond Calais

I could have put rookie running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn or rookie receiver Tyler Johnson on this list, but they’ll both make the team given their draft status as third- and fifth-round picks. The guy I’m more intrigued about is Calais, the team’s seventh-round selection, and the speed that he brings as a running back and as a kick returner.

Bucs RB Raymond Calais – Photo courtesy of Louisiana-Lafayette

Calais will be battling T.J. Logan for the fourth running back spot on the roster and the kick return duties, in addition to challenging Dare Ogunbowale for the third-down back role. At 5-foot-8, 188 pounds, Calais is similarly built to former Bucs running back Warrick Dunn, who was 5-foot-9, 187 pounds coming out of Florida State. 

What made the diminutive Dunn effective was his toughness despite his small stature. Calais didn’t have the workload at Louisiana-Lafayette where he split carries with two other backs that Dunn did at Florida State where he was the feature back. How tough is Calais? I’m interested to find out, but won’t really be able to tell until the pads come on in training camp. In the meantime, I want to see that 4.42 speed in action in the mini-camps.

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