With minicamp now in the rearview mirror, most organizations will be quiet until training camp opens in late July. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers just concluded minicamp this past weekend with the defense shining all three days.
The defense outplayed the offense, getting their hands on balls and intercepting passes which Todd Bowles was happy to see. This style of play and aggressiveness have been consistently missing the last few seasons.
There was some concern about Hassan Reddick, who missed all of OTAs. What kind of shape would he be in? What kind of attitude would he have? The Bucs were burned last year by the signing of Randy Gregory last offseason. After Gregory signed with the Bucs, he never reported to minicamp or training camp. All those fears were quickly put aside as Reddick was fully engaged in the mini-camp practices and drew praise from coach Todd Bowles.
“I think he brings a great addition to help us rush with four,” Bowles said. “So we can cover more and do those types of things. We expect him to be his old self with us. He can do a lot of things, but more importantly, he can rush the passer. If we’ve got guys that can rush the passer, we let them rush the passer.”
Bowles also talked about the leadership that Reddick brings to the defense. “He’s been great talking to guys on the sideline about hand placement, length, what foot to use, when to go under.”
Reddick was non-committal when asked about his production and the number of sacks he wants this season. But when pressed further, Reddick said, “I will say this, maybe double-digits. I don’t care if it’s ten. Maybe double digits. I just want to play good football.”
Reddick also had kind words for Baker Mayfield who is an under-the-radar MVP candidate this season.
“A warrior. A hard-fought guy. I respect Baker a lot because he’s another person in this league that has had ups and downs and continues to strive to be as great as he wants to be or continues to strive for greatness. I have tremendous respect for him. I love his game. I do think he has a warrior’s mentality and I think he’s one of the QBs in this league that’s on the more physical end.”
Rookie wide receiver Tez Johnson is another player who caught the attention of everyone at minicamp with his speed and ability to get separation from the defensive backs.
Baker Mayfield talked about what Johnson brings to the offense. “Tez Johnson is a guy that, obviously, a later draft pick, but a lot of talent. He’s a little guy but really explosive. He understands how to win on leverage. He’s one of those guys you really can’t touch in a phone booth. It’s fun to watch him release off press coverage.”
Mike Evans is very high on this wide receiver room led by himself, Chris Godwin, Jalen McMillan, Emeka Ebuka, and Tez Johnson.
“I know I say it a lot but this might be the best receiver room I’ve been a part of,” Evans said. “I say it every year but we always get great players coming in so that’s been very fortunate for me in my career to be around a lot of great young players and they’ve added to the room tremendously. They’re very polished already. Emeka, really strong hands, super smart. Tez, speed, quickness.”
You don’t win games in early June and a lot can change as training camp begins. But this Buccaneers team offensively and defensively may be the best that we’ve seen in a long time.
Training camp begins July 24th for the Buccaneers. During training camp, the team will have joint practice sessions with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Tennessee Titans. The Buccaneers’ first preseason game is Saturday, August 9th at home against the Titans.