Bucs, Titans Do Battle In Tampa

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After 11 practices of Bucs on Bucs, Thursday morning at the AdventHealth Training Center was much different as the Tennessee Titans were in town for a joint practice ahead of Saturday night’s preseason opener at Raymond James Stadium.

The other difference on Thursday was the timing of practice, as it ran from 10:00 a.m. until noon. Bucs Krewe Members were in attendance for the final practice before the preseason, too, which made for a lively atmosphere despite the hot conditions.

Tensions certainly ran high at several points during the practice, with the Bucs and Titans even coming together after one play to exchange some pushes and shoves. While tempers flared in the moment, the general mood from the Bucs side of things after practice was that some of these skirmishes are simply bound to happen when you get two different teams matching up in a padded practice under intense heat. You can read a more in-depth account of what went on between the two sides here.

Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds, Matt Matera, Bailey Adams, Josh Queipo and Adam Slivon were in attendance for Thursday’s practice, as well as post-practice press conferences with Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles and quarterback Baker Mayfield. Here are their observations and takeaways from Day 12 of Bucs training camp, a joint practice with 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward and the Titans.

Bucs Who Were Not Practicing On Thursday Morning

There was much of the same on the injury front for the Bucs on Thursday, as quarterback Michael Pratt, tight end Cade Otton and wide receivers Tez Johnson, Kam Johnson and Trey Palmer all remained out. After practice, Kam Johnson was seen doing some on-field work as he looks to work his way back into action.

Rookie cornerback Benjamin Morrison also missed practice for a second straight day. Head coach Todd Bowles said after Wednesday’s practice that the former Notre Dame standout and 2025 second-round pick is dealing with a tweaked hamstring.

Unsurprisingly, Mike Evans was back at practice after a veteran day off on Wednesday, and it was a big day for the 12th-year receiver.

Bucs And Titans Trade Wins Throughout Competitive Team Periods

Even outside of the actual skirmish, Thursday’s practice featured some intense battles between the Bucs and Titans. While Tampa Bay certainly has the better team on paper, Tennessee seemed to come to town with a chip on its collective shoulder. And that led to a lot of back-and-forth during the 1-on-1s, 7-on-7s and full team periods.

Bucs receivers got the better of Titans defensive backs during 1-on-1s, with 2025 first-round pick Emeka Egbuka being a clear standout. He had three reps in the rotation and got three wins, creating some good separation and showing great body control to bring the ball down near the sideline.

The 1-on-1 period between the Bucs secondary and the Titans receivers was a bit more even, with Jamel Dean getting beat deep on one rep while rookie J.J. Roberts came up with a phenomenal play near the sideline as he ripped the ball away from the receiver for what appeared to be a completed interception.

Meanwhile, things got chippy during 1-on-1s in the trenches, particularly after a rep that saw right guard Cody Mauch toss Jeffrey Simmons to the ground at the end of a play.

When it came time for 7-on-7s, the Bucs offense was a bit sloppy with some overthrows and dropped passes. The Titans offense, on the other hand, went to work on the Buccaneer defense. Rookie quarterback Cam Ward led the way, though he wasn’t the only one taking advantage of some easy reads and wide-open throws. That proved to be a tough period for the Tampa Bay defensive backs.

Then came 11-on-11s, which saw both sides get some good work in. Over on field two, Ward connected with Calvin Ridley down the middle of the field on one play, while Zyon McCollum stepped and made a good play on the ball on another, though he dropped an easy interception. Backup quarterback Brandon Allen made some big-time throws as well, plus Tennessee found some success running the ball against the Tampa Bay defense.

The big play of the day for the Bucs defense came immediately after the fight between the two sides, as outside linebacker Haason Reddick dropped into coverage and intercepted Ward. Not to mention, Tampa Bay threw plenty of looks at the rookie quarterback, bringing heavy pressure on several occasions. On one, Antoine Winfield Jr. came flying in on a blitz to force a quick throwaway.

Over on field one, Tampa Bay’s offense was up-and-down. The second-team offensive line struggled to hold up in protection for quarterback Kyle Trask, making things difficult for the backups to get anything going. But when the starters were in, it was no surprise to see the Baker Mayfield-Mike Evans connection looking as strong as ever, with Evans repeatedly creating separation from the Tennessee corners to make some easy catches down the field.

Jalen McMillan also made a great catch down the sideline on one rep, though Tennessee got a big hit in on Emeka Egbuka on another play, with Jarvis Brownlee Jr. coming flying in to rock the rookie to force an incompletion.

Finally, there was the red zone period, which saw the Titans score on a pass from Tim Boyle to rookie Xavier Restrepo while the Bucs came up with two touchdowns, one from Mayfield to Evans and another from Trask to tight end Tanner Taula.

Got all of that? It was a busy morning at One Buc Place, and as Mayfield said after practice, there was some good and some bad for the Bucs offense. That sentiment can be applied to the team as a whole, which is probably to be expected at this time of the year.

Observations & Highlights From Day 12 Of Bucs Training Camp

Here are some quick-hitting observations from Tampa Bay’s 12th training camp practice of 2025:

• Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask were the only Bucs quarterbacks getting reps during Thursday’s joint practice, which makes sense as Mayfield won’t play in Saturday’s preseason opener and Trask will only play for a limited time. Third-string quarterback Connor Bazelak can be expected to play the majority of the game.
• Speaking of the preseason opener, head coach Todd Bowles said after Thursday’s practice not to expect many starters to play in this one.
• Elijah Klein got some reps as the second-team center during Thursday’s practice as the team continues to search for Robert Hainsey’s replacement.

• Rookie defensive back J.J. Roberts continued to have a strong training camp. The versatile Marshall product had the aforementioned interception during 1-on-1s, and he should’ve had another pick during 11-on-11s, but he couldn’t hang on.
• Sterling Shepard continued to have a strong training camp, winning some 1-on-1 reps before making a couple of catches during 11-on-11s.
• Garrett Greene looks remarkably polished as a wide receiver, especially considering he’s a rookie who just converted from the quarterback position. While he proved at West Virginia that he was a versatile athlete who could certainly run, he seems to have a good grasp on the nuances of the receiver position already.

• The Tampa Bay offensive line struggled for much of Thursday’s practice, especially the interior. The second-team offensive line also looked really rough.
• Along with the fight on the field, there was also some tension between Titans cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. and some Buccaneer fans. Brownlee had to be restrained by security and his coaches.

• The two newest Bucs receivers, Jaden Smith and Jacob Harris, had some strong reps during 1-on-1s.
• Super Bowl XXXVII-winning head coach and Bucs Ring of Honor member Jon Gruden was on hand for Thursday’s practice.

• Pro Football Hall of Famer and Bucs Ring of Honor member Ronde Barber, who will be on the call for Tampa Bay’s preseason opener on Saturday night, was at practice Thursday as well.

• After practice, Titans No. 1 pick Cam Ward was very complimentary of Tampa Bay’s defense, calling it one of the league’s best.

Bucs – Titans Joint Practice Recap On Today’s Pewter Report Podcast

Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds, Matt Matera and Adam Slivon were on hand to watch Thursday’s lively joint practice between Tampa Bay and Tennessee and will discuss the standout moments today at 4:00 p.m. ET on the Pewter Report Podcast. The Pewter Report Podcast is streamed live on the PewterReportTV YouTube channel in addition being streamed live on the @PewterReport X and Facebook social media channels.

Click the link below to watch the episode.