Louis Murphy suddenly could be the Bucs’ No. 2 WR and is living his childhood dream.

When the pride of Lakewood High School, wide receiver Louis Murphy, was signed by the Bucs during free agency, it seemed like a smart move. Bring in a seasoned veteran who was still young who had starting experience. Great addition of depth.

Then came the trade of No. 2 wide receiver mattress-in-the-front-yard, stripper-pole-in-the-living-room (allegedly), blade-in-the-thigh wide receiver Mike Williams to Buffalo. [read more]

New Bucs Pro Bowl, big-money cornerback Alterraun Verner spent his first four seasons in Tennessee, and Joe, like many Bucs fans, doesn’t watch much Titans football.

So yesterday Joe set out to ask new Bucs wide receiver Lavelle Hawkins (a three-year teammate of Verner) just what Verner is like to play with. The “S” word came out, as it usually does when you talk to those familiar with Verner. [read more]

Lavonte David, the stud Bucs outside linebacker, is a laid back dude off the field. He’s the kind of a guy who goes with the flow. So now that he’s experiencing a coaching change for the first time in his NFL career, David is far from freaking out about the changes at One Buc Palace. [read more]

New Bucs cornerback D.J. Moore played for years in Chicago under Lovie Smith. So before yesterday’s inaugural practice under the new Bucs regime at One Buc Palace, Moore was one of the few Buccaneers who really knew what to expect.

He also knew what was coming after practice. [read more]

This just in: Tim Wright finished 12th in receiving yards for tight ends in 2013, most for any rookie.

Just about as long as Joe has had this corner of the Interwebs up and running, Bucs fans have been absolutely obsessed with the tight end position. Joe is confident many Bucs fans would rather have a decent tight end than a decent quarterback.

Joe is constantly peppered with questions on Twitter about who the Bucs will draft/sign to upgrade the tight end spot. The sad thing of it is, these same fans don’t want to hear the truth: that the team currently has a budding star tight end already on the roster. [read more]

Yes, defensive tackle Akeem Spence was arrested in Alabama in January after a traffic stop. Police claim he was driving over 100 miles per hour while in possession of marijuana.

Of course, Joe talked to Spence about this today, the first time Spence was available to media since the incident. [read more]

Dear JoeBusFan.com readers,

Joe is aware that a small percentage of mobile-only readers of JoeBucsFan.com experience redirects at times when viewing JoeBucFan.com via their smartphones.

It’s a problem that Joe is working on, and it’s also a problem that has been an issue for several major websites, the NBC family of sites, among others. Thankfully, Joe has such a gigantic readership (730,000 visits last month alone) so he gets what feels like lots of complaints. However, those complaints are not something Joe will address any longer. Responding to them specifically wastes Joe’s time — time that is much better spent on covering all things Bucs.

Again, Joe is working on the issue with his technical gurus and has been for many weeks. Also, Joe has plans in the works for mobile readers that could lessen the impact of this issue and, for some, remove the issue altogether.

Regardless, Joe hears the pain that some of you are having. Sorry. Life is very smooth for most readers, and great for all off the smartphone.

Please trust that Joe is doing his best for all readers.

From here forward, every time the issue is brought up to Joe via Twitter or in the comments section, Joe will respond by sending a link to this post.

Go Bucs!

Lovie Smith said the Bucs wont just draft players for one side of the ball.

It was a giddy Lovie Smith who took to the podium at One Buc Palace following his very first practice as Bucs head coach. [read more]

When Mike Glennon was taking snaps today in various drills against the defense, Josh McCown was almost always 10 yards behind him.

McCown wasn’t telling jokes, chatting or wiping his brow. [read more]

Here are some more sights and sounds Joe jotted down while watching the full practice on Day 1 of Bucs voluntary minicamp from the practice fields of One Buc Palace. [read more]

Eric Page was a busy man today

When QB Josh McCown got the job and was named the out-of-the gate starter by Lovie Smith, the head coach then qualified that statement by saying he would have a starting rotation at each position for the sake of running practices and managing a team.

Obviously, Vincent Jackson is the Bucs’ No. 1 receiver, but who stands second and third in line on Day 1 of minicamp today at One Buc Palace? [read more]

All kinds of stuff happening on the practice fields of One Buc Palace today

Here’s a pile of nuggets to quench your thirst for Bucs happenings, and Joe’s got much more to share later.

Your Bucs took to the practice fields at One Buc Palace for the first time under Lovie Smith this afternoon. The sun was shining, and it was clear that one Pro Bowler is getting an education. [read more]

Joe hasn’t felt the vibe he sensed today in the Bucs locker room in a long, long time. It’s almost like the principal just gave the school an extra recess.

No, the Bucs players were not slacking off on their first day of volunteer mini-camp at One Buc Palace. But there is a sense of fresh air. Virtually every player Joe saw had a smile on his face, which is sort of strange, given that practice was only moments away. [read more]

The human armoire, Bucs left guard Carl Nicks, is watching practice this afternoon and taking “mental reps.” Nicks won’t be running with his teammates.

However, Nicks is running on his own and working out in a fashion that has him excited. [read more]

Olympic speedster, former Gator and Lovie Smith focus Jeff Demps is healthy and will be on the practice field this afternoon for the start of Bucs minicamp.

Is he the fastest man in the NFL? Demps sure thinks so. [read more]

Back at the 2014 NFL Owners Meetings in Orlando, Joe joined other media types for a long, cozy breakfast with Lovie Smith.

One question Joe asked Lovie was what glory-days Buccaneers were reaching out to him to get involved with the new regime and the scope of those conversations. It seemed to be a fair question, considering that at Lovie’s introductory news conference he publicly stated he’d be welcoming ex-Buccaneers with open arms. [read more]

Starting QB Josh McCown said the Bucs offense will have some elements of the offense used by Bears coach Marc Trestman.

If CNN was a sports network (anyone remember CNNSI? Man, Joe misses that outfit), it would have round-the-clock coverage of trying to solve the mystery of Jeff Tedford’s offense. For weeks, that’s all Bucs fans have been trying to decipher, with few clues.

Bucs coaches and players have been very coy about Tedford’s offense. Granted, today is the first day players will have a chance to run a play under the watch of Tedford (yes, Joe will be at the first voluntary minicamp, so check back often this afternoon), but folks outside of One Buc Palace are hungry for information. [read more]

It’s showtime for Jeff Demps and many returning Buccaneers

If you’re not among the crazy fans who live and breathe Bucs football 24/7, then you may not realize the first minicamp of the Lovie Smith regime runs today through Thursday at One Buc Palace.

It marks the first time Bucs coaches will get players on the field, versus strictly classroom and conditioning work. [read more]

The Bucs did more shuffling this offseason than a Vegas blackjack dealer. Some 19 new players were brought in and a boatload of players were sent packing.

Holdovers like Gerald McCoy joked that returning for offseason conditioning at One Buc Palace was like the first day of high school. He knew some of his teammates, but most were strangers. [read more]

Even with all the talk of the Bucs needing or wanting to draft a quarterback, an offensive lineman and a wide receiver, the option of Bucs general Lovie Smith getting wowed to his defensive core by a college prospect shouldn’t be discounted?

What if ferocious Khalil Mack is sitting there at No. 7? And what about Brigham Young linebacker Kyle Van Noy? [read more]

Jason La Canfora doesn’t expect Bucs DE Adrian Clayborn to get a 5th-year option exercised by May 5.

Now Joe likes Adrian Clayborn, but ever since his knee injury not quite two years ago, he has not been the same defensive end. Prior to his injury, it looked like the Bucs might have a pretty good edge pass rusher in the making.

Because the Bucs couldn’t breathe on any opposing quarterback, one of the first items on new Bucs coach Lovie Smith’s agenda was to beef up the pass rush, little that they had. [read more]