Buccaneers Training Camp: Notes and Quotes Day 13

The Buccaneers hit the practice field at One Buc Place on Monday morning ahead of their joint practices with the Jaguars in Jacksonville this week. Here, we have some highlights from Monday morning.

There was a lot of injury news that came from Monday’s practice.  First, Charles Sims, Vernon Hargreaves and Cassanova McKinzy were back after missing time.  McKinzy missed about two weeks with a hamstring injury while Sims and Hargreaves recovered from minor injuries.  William Gholston was also back at practice after missing some time due to a family issue.  Of course, J.R. Sweezy and Caleb Benenoch remained out.  Donovan Smith missed practice again as he continues to deal with the flu, but he was in attendance.  Andrew DePaola and Elijah Shumate also didn’t practice.

With Smith missing practice due to the flu, Kevin Pamphile slid over to tackle.  Evan Smith worked at guard in place of Pamphile, who continues to show versatility while working at multiple positions on the line.  The Bucs will need that versatility this season, especially as they appear to be starting the year with multiple injuries along the line.  After practice, head coach Dirk Koetter spoke highly of Pamphile, saying “I’ve said multiple times that if J.R. (Sweezy) wasn’t ready, we’d be fine with Kevin at left guard.  He’s handled himself well.”  Pamphile talked about having to “own up and be prepared” to play different positions.

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On the offensive side of the ball, Donteea Dye and Russell Shepard both had good days as they look to give Tampa Bay depth at wide receiver.  Here’s a look at Dye catching a pass from Jameis Winston:

Cameron Brate continued his impressive camp, catching passes from both Winston and Mike Glennon.  Glennon hit him with two passes over the middle of the field in traffic during 11-on-11 work.

The battle for the third running back spot appeared to continue during practice.  Koetter confirmed as much in his post-practice interview, saying that they’ll see that competition through the third preseason game.  Mike James, who had a big catch on Thursday night in Philadelphia, continued to split reps with Storm Johnson and Peyton Barber.  Johnson got some work with catching passes from Ryan Griffin out of the backfield:

On defense, Alterraun Verner made a couple of good plays in coverage.  Gholston’s return to practice is nice for the Bucs, as it adds another force to an already-improved pass rush.  Per usual, Gerald McCoy, Robert Ayers and Noah Spence all had some solid reps on Monday morning. Gholston and Kourtnei Brown could be key depth guys for Tampa Bay on the defensive line:

The punt return job still appears to be up for grabs, as Adam Humphries, Bernard Reedy and Jonathan Krause saw time catching punts in Monday’s practice.  The kick returner spot looks even more open after Thursday’s preseason game, with Kenny Bell losing a bit of his grip on the position.  After practice, Koetter said that Donteea Dye will see the first rep on Saturday against Jacksonville.

Next: Winston Won't Settle For Less Than Greatness

The Bucs will head to Jacksonville on Tuesday for a couple of joint practices with the Jaguars.  The two teams will square off at EverBank Field on Saturday night at 7:30.