Defense Keeps Racking Up INTs

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Day six of Bucs training camp was much different than the first five, as the team held its second padded practice of the summer inside the indoor practice facility at the AdventHealth Training Center. Not only that, but the practice took place Tuesday night rather than in the morning, and it featured a fired-up crowd full of Krewe Members, who also got to enjoy an autograph session with Buccaneer players before practice.

The Bucs will be off Wednesday before returning to practice Thursday morning. Cade Otton, Kameron Johnson and Marcus Banks were all sidelined for the third straight day, with Josh Williams and Trey Palmer also missing out on practice. Greg Gaines had previously returned to the field after missing time this summer with an injury, but he wasn’t dressed out Tuesday night either. It also appeared to be a veteran day off for Lavonte David, who of course will get the benefit of two days off in a row with no practice on Wednesday.

Pewter Report’s Matt Matera and Bailey Adams were in attendance for Tuesday’s practice at One Buc Place, as well as pre-practice press conferences with offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, wide receiver Mike Evans, left guard Ben Bredeson and rookie defensive back Jacob Parrish. Bucs head coach Todd Bowles also spoke to the media after practice.

Benjamin Morrison Handles Ups And Downs Of Rookie Life Like A Pro

There’s always a lot of talk about professional athletes needing to have short memories, and we have Ted Lasso to thank for the popularization of the “Be a Goldfish” concept. The idea is that you need to be able to have a short memory in shaking off a mistake and simply move on, as there’s always the next play. This applies to positions all over the football field, but cornerback may be one of the positions where it hits the closest to home.

Bucs rookie cornerback Benjamin Morrison was the perfect example of that concept on Tuesday night. He was mixing in with the starting defense to begin 11-on-11s, and on the very first play of the period, he drew the unenviable task of lining up on 12th-year veteran Mike Evans. And Evans won the rep, splitting the zone between Morrison and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. for a big 30-yard catch from Baker Mayfield off play-action.

One play later, Morrison was in the right spot to intercept another play-action deep ball attempt from Mayfield. On this one, it was Jalen McMillan who was the intended receiver, but Morrison was there to take it away.

It was an exceptional display of mental fortitude by the rookie cornerback out of Notre Dame, as he bounced right back from allowing a long completion to come up with a takeaway. After practice, head coach Todd Bowles actually praised Morrison for both plays, saying the first was more about the adjustment from Evans before going on to commend the rookie on his intelligence and field vision.

“He made a great play the first play,” Bowles said. “Mike adjusted the route after he read it. And then he got an interception on the second play. He’s a very smart player. He can see things before they happen, but he still has to cover.”

Bucs Secondary Continues Impressive Team Effort To Create Takeaways

Training camp is always a funny time of year in some respects, as a given play can include a positive takeaway for one side of the ball that doubles as a negative takeaway for the other. Interceptions are a pertinent example here, especially after Tuesday night’s practice. The Bucs secondary kept things going in their interception parade, with starting quarterback Baker Mayfield being the primary victim this time around.

There’s little reason to worry about interceptions from Mayfield in practice. It’s in his nature to take risks, and perhaps even more so on the practice field. Not to mention, he’s working on pushing the ball vertically a bit more under new offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, which ups the risk factor while also creating more opportunities for explosive plays.

That’s why the interceptions on Tuesday night felt more like a positive development for the defense and less like cause for concern with Mayfield.

Head coach Todd Bowles has talked all offseason about how badly he needs more ballhawks on defense, and his side of the ball has gotten off to a fantastic start on that front in camp. After a couple of days in which the defense was picking off passes from Kyle Trask and Connor Bazelak, it was all over Mayfield on Tuesday.

It started with the Benjamin Morrison interception on the second play of 11-on-11s, then it would continue later in the red zone period when Mayfield looked for rookie Emeka Egbuka only for Bryce Hall to pick the pass off for his second interception of training camp.

Near the end of practice, the defense would come up with a third interception, with Josh Hayes getting one on Bazelak.

Not to mention, the Bucs dropped a couple of interceptions as well. Anthony Nelson dropped into coverage and nearly intercepted Mayfield on one play, while Zyon McCollum dropped a pass tipped in front of him by Mike Evans.

The fact that Tampa Bay’s secondary continues to fly around and make plays on the ball is a great sign, and it’s perhaps an even better sign that these interceptions are coming from all over the back end. Antoine Winfield Jr., Tykee Smith, Benjamin Morrison, Jacob Parrish, Christian Izien, Bryce Hall, Kindle Vildor and Josh Hayes all have interceptions thus far in camp, speaking to the improved depth the Bucs have in the secondary.

Mike Evans Already Looks Primed And Ready For Year 12

When you’re getting ready for your 12th NFL season with your 12th training camp, things are naturally going to feel monotonous, right? Well, Mike Evans was asked before Tuesday night’s practice whether it’s harder or easier to prepare for this time of year as he gets older, and the veteran spoke to the job the coaches and trainers have done to keep him fresh and ready to go for the season.

“It’s easier. It’s actually easier,” Evans said. “When you have experience at things, it comes easier. The coaching staff, the training staff have been doing a great job taking care of me, not running me to the ground in training camp, making sure I can be ready to go for the season. So, they’ve been looking out for me. And I’ve been enjoying this camp, surprisingly. Usually, camp is extremely hard. It’s hard, but I’m getting some good work in.”

Evans has looked like his usual playmaking self so far in camp, and it’s hard not to feel like he’s plenty ready for Week 1 and doesn’t actually need to get that much more work in in July and August. But he certainly feels differently, as he participated in Tuesday night’s practice to get some extra reps in, Todd Bowles said after practice.

“He could’ve had the day off, and he’s taking some extra reps today and got better on the inside,” Bowles said. “That’s just a credit to him wanting to be great.”

Evans was great, too, coming up with that big 30-yard catch early in 11-on-11s after winning some 1-on-1 reps earlier in practice, with one of them again coming against rookie Benjamin Morrison.

Observations & Highlights From Day 6 Of Bucs Training Camp

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

• Sean Tucker was one of the offensive stars of Tuesday night’s practice, as he seemed to be getting carries and targets left and right. He’s continued to show his value as Tampa Bay’s RB3, and Todd Bowles had a lot of praise after practice for the former Syracuse running back’s playmaking ability, saying he’s been everything they want at the position.

• Tucker has continued to get a lot of kick return reps during camp, and he’s likely to keep that role once again this season.
• Rachaad White, Emeka Egbuka, Jalen McMillan and Tez Johnson were all getting punt return reps early in practice.
• During 1-on-1s, the interior of the Bucs defensive line dominated on back-to-back-to-back plays. First, Logan Hall blew right by Cody Mauch, then Vita Vea bowled over Graham Barton and finally Calijah Kancey beat Ben Bredeson to end the trio of wins from the interior.
• Luke Goedeke had an impressive 1-on-1 win against Haason Reddick, stonewalling the veteran pass rusher.

• Sterling Shepard has been involved in some feisty moments in recent days, with one earlier this week and another on Tuesday night as Jacob Parrish roughed him up in a 1-on-1 rep. Shepard took exception, and he may have taken his frustration out later on an unsuspecting Christian Izien, who ended up on the ground after a separate 1-on-1 rep.
• Payne Durham and Devin Culp have continued to see increased reps with Cade Otton sidelined, and both have responded well. Durham had a red zone touchdown from Baker Mayfield on Tuesday night, while Culp continued to put his speed and athleticism on display during his strong start to camp.
• Don’t forget about Rachaad White. He quietly had a very good practice on Tuesday, working well in the screen game and continuing to show his blitz pickup prowess.
• Elijah Roberts had a particularly good rep about midway through 11-on-11s pressuring Baker Mayfield out of the pocket before Mayfield hit Mike Evans near the sideline on the run.
• Jose Ramirez and Mike Greene both had would-be sacks on Kyle Trask late in practice.