Buccaneers Rookie Minicamp Notes & Nuggets
May 9th, 2025
The thermometer read 91 degrees at One Buc Palace this afternoon (“feels-like” was 98) as rookie minicamp kicked off.
*Stretching and warmup begins for the rookies and tryout players with a coach barking consistently at them and Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht talking to senior offensive advisor Tom Moore. About whom are they talking?
*Licht then marches across the field to talk to new playcaller Josh Grizzard.
*Rookie undrafted free agent QB Connor Bazelak, after one snap, gets an earful from a coach to get a lot louder. The rookie from Bowling Green complies in a hurry. Other QBs are here but they clearly are camp meat. Bazelak is the only QB with his name on the back of his jersey and is getting the key reps.
*Emeka Egbuka doesn’t look smooth tracking punts. Good thing the Bucs won’t need him to. Tez Johnson was much smoother. These were live punts, not off a machine.
*Johnson’s drip game is going early. He’s got two different color shoes on — neon green and neon orange.
*Grizzard is a brave (?) man wearing all black on the full-sun field at 1:15 p.m.
*Rookie offensive tackle Ben Chukwuma, the highly-paid project out of Georgia State, is one huge dude on this field.
*Florida State defensive back Will Brooks looks like a live body in drills.
*Safety Shilo Sanders certainly looks the part and seems to give 100 percent on every rep. One might think every player goes all out on everything, but that’s never the case.
*Drop! In drills by rookie second-round pick Benjamin Morrison. He slaps his hands in disgust. Don’t worry. He made up for it. Morrison clearly catches balls well away from his body.
*Tryout defensive lineman Evan Bearden is an athletic dude. Wearing the famous Bucs No. 93 makes him stand out just a little extra for Joe.
*Big No. 56, 400-plus pounds defensive tackle Desmond Watson, is hard to miss, especially with blue cleats.
*Remember, there is no hitting allowed in rookie minicamp. It’s underwear football. Yeah, there’s some touching, but no hitting of any kind. Guys are in shorts.
*A favorite of Licht, Nebraska linebacker John Bullock, is calling the defense for his teammates in the opening 11-on-11 series.
*Tight end Tanner Tuala, Illinois State undrafted free agent, makes a nice catch down the right seam.
*Egbuka sure is a fun mix of smooth and quick.
*Chukwuma appeared to have some challenges with the heat.
*Running back DJ Williams, undrafted free agent from the University of Arizona, has some juice in his legs.
*Nice hands adjustment in the air on an 8-yard sideline catch by Tez Johnson.
*Tryout receiver Jayden Smith (Texas El-Paso) catches a ball behind him over the middle. Not a lot of great throws in camp. And just as Joe typed that, Smith caught another throw behind him on the right sideline. Smith made another nice grab later on a crossing route.
*Joe sees what pre-draft pundits meant when they said Egbuka is a very quarterback-friendly receiver.
*Yeah, Johnson’s jukes after short receptions look like they’d be a problem for seasoned NFL defenders. Maybe Tony Dungy was right.
*Nice sideline interception by third-round pick Jacob Parrish! That’ll surely show up on social media.
Joe will have more from rookie minicamp later today.
May 9th, 2025 at 2:23 pm
Anything on SVSU LB Micah Cretsinger? We here in Jackson, MI are pulling for him to make it through this weekend and into training camp.
May 9th, 2025 at 2:26 pm
Thanks for the observations Joe!
May 9th, 2025 at 2:26 pm
For those wondering, ‘The Drip’ is a slang term for Gonorrhea.
May 9th, 2025 at 2:31 pm
a pick and a drop in the secondary. progress!
May 9th, 2025 at 2:32 pm
Has Bowles already won the Superbowl?
Might as well just give it to him now and save time.
Bowles is the best coach in the NFL. Hands down.
May 9th, 2025 at 2:35 pm
Great write-up Joe, I love these!
May 9th, 2025 at 2:36 pm
Is this a different DJ Williams than the one that we had in camp last year? These are only true rookies, correct?
May 9th, 2025 at 2:45 pm
😆… I remember this time last year when Barton was saying it was hot 🥵
BTW I saw him on a TV segment and he was been hitting the weights and appears thicker and more muscular
May 9th, 2025 at 2:56 pm
SB~LV – seems like all the Licht draft picks on the line really beef up before their 2nd year. Part of the reason that Licht likes taking college tackles, since they generally have larger frames where they can add a lot of muscle.
Will be interesting to see what Elijah Klein does, he’s a rare true college guard that Licht took – he was known as a good run blocker in college, if he levels up this offseason he might turn into something. Still a ways to go for him, he was very much a project, but Licht’s record on offensive lineman is impeccable, so it wouldn’t shock me if shows up looking like a monster in training camp.
May 9th, 2025 at 3:01 pm
Good to hear Morrison is already on the field. Has to knock off some rust but will be a star for us. Go Bucs!!
May 9th, 2025 at 3:09 pm
i bet both Ben Chukwuma & Desmond Watson are felling the heat/humidity at bit. Watson is probably more used to it being from here and playing at UF. it gets so much worse in August.
May 9th, 2025 at 3:25 pm
TB#1 I thought Todd needed to be fired in the last post smh get it together
May 9th, 2025 at 3:35 pm
El hefe Says:
“TB#1 I thought Todd needed to be fired in the last post smh get it together”
Did you used to live under power lines as a kid?
May 9th, 2025 at 3:39 pm
“Safety Shilo Sanders certainly looks the part and seems to give 100 percent on every rep. One might think every player goes all out on everything, but that’s never the case.”
Did anyone expect anything less? Yes, Deion’s sons are over the top, but the talent is there. The work ethic of his sons are second to none. This may be a hell of a signing
May 9th, 2025 at 3:48 pm
I wouldn’t go that far but he’s definitely a very good coach 👍🏼😎
He’s no Mike McCarthy but we can’t all be fat, white, and unemployed 🤣
May 9th, 2025 at 4:06 pm
Thank you for the notes Joe!
No need to thank Joe. Some days there will be no notes. Some days practices will have obstructed views. Some days Joe will be wiping a pool of sweat and miss plays. Some days Joe will be having lunch with a retired cheerleader. Joe will always share what Joe finds interesting and real tied to the Bucs, no matter what that is or where Joe is.–Joe
May 9th, 2025 at 4:33 pm
Great to hear some news on the new players! Thanks!
May 9th, 2025 at 5:57 pm
Good stuff Joe’s. Thank you.
May 9th, 2025 at 6:27 pm
Absolutely, I appreciate the camp reports Joe. Keep em coming GO BUS!!
May 9th, 2025 at 6:58 pm
Good stuff. Thanks Joe!
I’m rooting foe the lil fella. Getting drafted and weighing in at 150+ is sure fire tenacity
May 9th, 2025 at 7:49 pm
Great news Morrison was already doing on field work, and should be a go for OTAs. I see him, and Parrish both starting. Dean will make a good vet backup, or trade bait.
May 9th, 2025 at 8:12 pm
Love the Notes Joe
May 9th, 2025 at 8:50 pm
Thank you, Joe.
Especially thrilled to read that Benjamin was on the field.
May 9th, 2025 at 9:10 pm
Joe rules…as always!
May 9th, 2025 at 9:55 pm
Thank you Joe(s)!!!
May 9th, 2025 at 10:10 pm
I’ am watching UDFAs, FS JJ Robert’s. He graded out as a top safety on the analytics site. Also the OLB Warren Peeples who is a small school guy with potential
May 9th, 2025 at 10:55 pm
Rachel Watson in town Joe?
Tell her we said hello.
May 10th, 2025 at 4:37 am
Great overview! Thank you, Joe.
Agree about Grizz too. Wearing black at 1:00 in the afternoon is bold. Hope there is a lot of hydrating.
May 10th, 2025 at 7:31 am
I really hope the LT works out.
We really need a legit backup LT for Wirfs.
Wirfs will have ankle issues for the rest of his career.
We need a young, athletic LT behind him.
Merriweather, Ryan Miller, Rakim Jarrett, Sean Tucker, Funkmaster.
All UFA who are solid Bucs.
I really hope we find 4-5 UFA this year!
May 10th, 2025 at 7:32 am
*Izien too.
Izien outplayed Winfield last year.
If Winfield sucks again, it’s time to cut him next off-season and let Izien start.
May 10th, 2025 at 9:47 am
Yummy! I love the first rundown on the rookies Joe.
Thank you sir!
Go Bucs!