Pewter Report’s Bucs Training Camp coverage is presented by USF Football
Get your season tickets to see the Bulls by visiting USFBullsTix.com
The 2025 season kicks off Thursday night, August 28 against Boise State!
With Bucs training camp officially underway, the only thing separating us from the regular season is about month and a half on the calendar. It will be a long and grueling time for the players under the sun in Tampa Bay, but it also offers the chance for excitement to build.
In particular, quarterback Baker Mayfield is excited about his new offensive target – wide receiver Emeka Egbuka.
After dazzling and earning plenty of praise from Mayfield and the rest of the team during mandatory mini-camp, all eyes will be on how Egbuka fares and continues to grow.
Baker Mayfield: Emeka Egbuka Is “Just So Damn Smart”
Baker Mayfield recently hung out with former Eagles center Jason Kelce and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce on the New Heights Podcast. Mayfield’s near hour-long appearance was filled with insight about how his football career has unfolded.
Jason Kelce kicked it off by asking him about what he is looking forward to entering his third season with the Bucs.
Bucs OC Josh Grizzard and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
“I mean, we have all of our starters back on offense,” Mayfield said. “We added some depth, and a lot of the guys, just because of last year, we had a lot of injuries on offense. [Wide receivers] Mike [Evans] and Chris [Godwin Jr.] both went down. All of the guys who had to play stepped up for us. We have a lot of depth. We have everybody back who started, and then we have everybody back who was playing a lot for us. I’m excited about that, and then just the new guys we added. We needed some help on defense, some new faces, some young guys. There’s a lot of new energy, guys talking shit at practice.”
All of this sounds like the status quo for Mayfield and the team in 2025. Continuity has been the central theme as the offense looks to run it back and have similar success to what they accomplished in 2024. Doing so might mean playing without Godwin for the beginning of the season.
The veteran signal-caller isn’t worried though, because he then went out of his way to praise Tampa Bay’s first-round draft pick.
“Emeka Egbuka is an absolute stud,” Mayfield added. “He’s the real deal.”
Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Being that was the first player he mentioned when asked about what he is excited for this season, Jason probed him further.
“You know how you can’t just teach guys leaving the ground to catch the ball?” Mayfield said to the Kelces. “He’s always grounded when he catches it. Keeps moving, there’s YAC potential out the wazoo there. He’s just so damn smart. He’s willing to block, willing to do everything we ask him to do, but then we can plug and play him at any of the three receiver spots right now. It’s pretty exciting.”
After two days of training camp practices, Mayfield then was asked about how Egbuka is being incorporated into the offense, which prompted a remark toting the rookie’s ability to raise the standard.
“I mean, like a day like today where Mike is not practicing, you can put Emeka in anywhere,” Mayfield said on Thursday. “It really is the truth. It is fun to be able to have a guy like that, who is that intelligent, does not act like the rookie. His head is not spinning. He’s able to do it and handle it the right way. It raises the standard for everybody else. When you have a rookie coming in, learning the offense for the first time, and pushes everybody else around. So, it’s great to have somebody like that.”
Coming into a loaded wide receiver room, expectations are tempered a bit on Egbuka coming in and being a star right away. He doesn’t need to, not with Evans, Godwin, and 2024 third-round pick Jalen McMillan in the room. While Godwin is out though, it gives him a chance to get extra reps and build trust with Mayfield.
The battle for the third wide receiver spot will be one to watch this season, but in the early goings it could be a battle to be the temporary No. 2 wide receiver and be a big factor in the passing game.
Baker Mayfield Believes Bucs Are “Built”
Adding Emeka Egbuka only adds to the impressive stockpile of weapons Baker Mayfield has at his disposal.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
The Bucs are a lot deeper at the wide receiver position this year, which will help mitigate against injuries. Jason Kelce remarked things could have gone differently last year had the team stayed healthy, but Mayfield thinks the pieces added, Egbuka included, will only raise Tampa Bay’s floor and elevate them to the top of the NFC.
“The injuries definitely didn’t help us, but I feel like we’re built,” Mayfield said. “We knew we were when we are healthy. We’re built to compete against the Eagles and the Lions. What we thought were the top contenders in the NFC, and then obviously, Washington kind of came out of nowhere. We felt really, really good about our matchups. When you bring all those pieces back, you bring the vets in the locker room, Vita [Vea], Antoine [Winfield Jr.], Lavonte [David] … It’s exciting. There’s unfinished business.”
All of this has him pumped to get going.
“Yeah, it’s exciting knowing that we have the same system,” Mayfield stated. “The starters are back, same guys, chemistry continues to build. Anytime you can have that — when you are on the same page – good things are going to happen. But I’m more focused on the other stuff from last year. 16 interceptions, how can I elevate that.”