Bucs OTA Practice Notes
June 3rd, 2026
Bucs coach Todd Bowles.
It was borderline hot out at One Buc Palace on Tuesday.
Practice began at just before 11 a.m. and when the sun came out while the Bucs were going through 7-on-7s and goal line, it was hot. Thankfully, maybe half of practice was under an overcast sky.
So far in both OTA practices open to the Fourth Estate, it didn’t take long for a big play to happen. Last week, Emeka Egbuka made a crazy one-handed catch on the first play of 11-on-11. Tuesday, it was the third play of practice.
As always, please remember this is underwear football. All hitting is forbidden. The players wear shirts, shorts and helmets.
(Joe found it funny that just a couple of days after KitKat-eating Bucs coach Todd Bowles’ good friend, Detroit coach Dan Campbell, said of underwear football, “I’m done hyping a pajama party in May,” Bowles, on Monday, derisively scoffed at underwear football as “flag football” and “two-hand touch” and refused to assess any player’s performance until the pads come on.)
Joe’s glad to see NFL coaches openly rag on this exercise.
* On the third play of practice, Baker Mayfield throws to his left as he believes Chris Godwin is open. But no! Benjamin Morrison jumps the route and houses Mayfield’s pass. The defense celebrated like Morrison just won a playoff game. Good to see the defense is into it.
* Kenneth Gainwell runs to the left. He’s quicker than Joe thought he would be.
* Backup quarterback Jake Browning tries for Tez Johnson down the right side. Johnson was open but Browning over shot Tez.
* Browning connects with Kameron Johnson over the middle.
* Mayfield hits Jalen McMillen over the middle.
* Browning and Tez link up this time, to the left. Morrison was guarding on the play.
* Tez dives on a pass to the right and catches the Browning offering.
* Bauer Sharp makes an acrobatic catch from Browning down the left seam.
* Joe has seen Sharp in two rookie minicamp practices and two OTA practices. Yeah, Joe gets it: Underwear football. But this Sharp always seems to make plays in practice.
* Shortly after practice began, Joe noticed Devin Culp walking to the building escorted by a trainer. One man’s missed opportunities are another man’s opportunities. One guy heads to the locker room while the other, who is trying to take his job, is on the field making plays. You do the math.
* Joe was screened on the play so not sure who Browning was throwing to but head-butting John Bullock appeared to break up the pass.
* Jalon Daniels has a pass deflected off a teammate’s chest and Caden Fordham (North Carolina State) got a pick.
* Joe remembers KitKat-eating Bucs coach Todd Bowles saying how Ted Hurst was struggling to adapt to the Florida weather. It seems it’s still a work in progress. He has his helmet off and is on one knee, clearly looking like he’s physically been through the ringer.
* Mayfield to Gainwell on a short pass to the right.
* Cade Otton catches a pass from Mayfield to the right and he weaves through traffic for some extra yards.
* Josh Williams catches a Mayfield pass to the left.
* Mohamed Kamara gets a “run stuff” (no hitting, remember) and the defense goes wild.
* This was beautiful: Mayfield absolutely rifles a 15- or 20-yard pass over the middle to Egbuka and you couldn’t ask for better ball placement. Mayfield threw a rope and caught Egbuka in smooth stride.
* Mayfield drops back and he’s looking to launch the ball downfield. But the downfield receivers were covered, so he checked down, throwing a short pass to Gainwell to the left. It’s way, way early but Joe is starting to envision a lot of short passes going to Gainwell this fall.
* Mayfield tries for Godwin to the right, no go. It seemed like the pass may have been tipped.
* Browning throws deep to Sharp for a touchdown.
* Browning throws down the left seam to Hurst for a score.
* Daniels throws to Garrett Greene to the right. Greene had to dive for the ball but he got it.
* Mayfield throws but not sure who the intended target was as the ball falls incomplete. Rakeem Nunez-Roches (“Nacho”) may have got a mitt on the ball.
* This has been a spirited practice, mostly from the defense. At one point, Joe heard someone holler from the defensive sideline, “WE OWN THAT MOTHER—–R!” Later, in goal line practice, it appeared a defender may have been offsides and the offensive line erupted and were pointing at some defender with one of the offensive linemen yelling, “Down at the one!” Joe doesn’t remember too many OTA practices with this much juice, specifically from the defense.
* Mayfield gets the shotgun snap, looks, pumps once, pumps twice, then checkdowns to Jalen McMillan who runs the ball in to the left for six.
* Tez looking like he had a touchdown from Browning but Josh Hayes punched the ball out of Tez’s hands near the right sideline. Hayes is entering his fourth season with the Bucs and that may be just the second play Joe has ever seen Hayes make.
* Dangerous: Browning is chased out of the pocket and rolls right. When he gets past the hashmarks, he tries to force a pass throwing across his body to Tez. The little man from Oregon skied high and got a hand on the ball but couldn’t quite haul it in. It looked like Tez was going up for a rebound.
June 3rd, 2026 at 12:51 am
THANKS….
June 3rd, 2026 at 2:33 am
If this competitive offense versus defense mindset continues, we could be pretty good. The offense got it going with the EE play and the D bounced back with the Morrison house!! Great job guys!! Keep it going!!
June 3rd, 2026 at 3:18 am
Hurst better get used to this heat before camp.
June 3rd, 2026 at 3:29 am
Fred McNeil Says:
“Hurst better get used to this heat before camp.”
Agreed. But at least he scored after that.
The heat hits all rookies like this, every year. A veteran will advize him on methods to handle it.
June 3rd, 2026 at 4:03 am
“Underwear football but it still gets my attention Joe the DBs, WRs, QBs and RBs still get to show us a bit. Robinson probably still keeping it basic though.
Ted Hurst
It ain’t much hotter or humid in Tampa compared to Atlanta Joe. Spent enough time in Atlanta to know. Is the dude out of shape? Drained from a full season played? Struggling with the playbook/routes?
Loved the Sharp pick and starting to love it even more. Hope Robinson is mad scientist scheming to get him some wide open touches. This dude could give Baker and the boys some crazy options.
Go Bucs!
June 3rd, 2026 at 4:31 am
Joe, thank you for the notes.
June 3rd, 2026 at 6:07 am
Looks like the defense won the day? Or was it closer than it sounded? Hey- at least it’s competitive! Maybe the Bucs finish the season with a top 10 offense and defense. Wouldn’t *that* be something?
June 3rd, 2026 at 6:17 am
Thanks Joe!
June 3rd, 2026 at 6:24 am
garro
Current temp in ATL at 6:00 am.. 55 degrees. High today of 78. Where I am, 2 hours North.. it’s 48.
Current in Tampa .. 74 and that’s on an overcast relatively “cool” day before sunrise.
Lived in Brandon 35 years. There’s no comparison.
June 3rd, 2026 at 6:46 am
Great Job Joe!!! I’m ready for some Buc football.
June 3rd, 2026 at 6:53 am
Interception and tipped passes, some things never change. To his credit he plays the way he practices. Good to see the defense making plays. Great notes Joe.
June 3rd, 2026 at 7:56 am
Yesterday was 80° as the sun was coming up in Riverview and have lived in East Hillsborough county my entire life. It gets hot at midday in June. It also gets hot in Georgia but much shorter summers. Their heat doesn’t come until mid July and they can’t truly match our humidity levels. Other states get hot but we are the kings of humidity… especially in total length of days.
Hurst will be fine. Hydrate, hydrate and then drink some electrolytes.
June 3rd, 2026 at 8:30 am
Are we really discussing underwear football as if it matters????
I guess we have to because the regular season will be a dumpster fire.
Might as well enjoy not seeing washed up backup QBs and sixth round bust QBs put up 400-500 yards on the Swiss cheese pass defense.
Happy days!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
June 3rd, 2026 at 9:28 am
Thanks Joe. Appreciate the info about OTAs. I like hearing theres juice this season. I’m over last year ,new year, new TEAM , new opportunities. GO BUCCANEERS!!!!
June 3rd, 2026 at 11:01 am
Good descriptions. Good commentary. Good job, Joe!
June 3rd, 2026 at 11:44 am
There’s no happy days in your life wynch Your fn sad brother!
June 3rd, 2026 at 11:45 am
Sunscreen water IV Repeat..Take advice from a landscaper!
June 3rd, 2026 at 11:55 am
Steve V. Says: Says:
“There’s no happy days in your life wynch Your fn sad brother!”
False. I’m happy every day on this earth. Until Sundays when Bowles craps his pants on the sidelines.
June 3rd, 2026 at 12:50 pm
LynchMob50
You’re such a sad unhappy sack of excrement. If life sucks that bad for you, it’s not too late to self-abort. Only a true masochist would invest so much time in commenting about things that he hates or that hurts him.
June 3rd, 2026 at 1:09 pm
Underwear football doesn’t matter?
If the skill guys looked terrible no one is going to say relax, it doesn’t matter right now…. If they don’t look good that’s a major concern, won’t get easier when the pads come on.
June 3rd, 2026 at 1:31 pm
Bee Says:
June 3rd, 2026 at 6:53 am
Interception and tipped passes, some things never change.
BINGO!!!!
yet, folks will say its only practice lol
GO BUCS!!!!