The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans met for a joint practice on Thursday, ahead of their upcoming preseason game on Saturday. As is the case with most joint practices, things got a bit heated, as the teams had a couple of dust ups.
Ultimately, both squads were able to get in some good work as they competed against another team, and two of Tampa Bay’s rookies stole the show with standout performances.
Emeka Egbuka stood out in joint practice for Buccaneers
The Buccaneers have sky-high expectations for Emeka Egbuka. After all, they did spend their first-round pick to draft him in the 2025 NFL Draft.
With Chris Godwin Jr. potentially missing the beginning of the season as he continues to recover from an ankle injury that ended his 2024 season, the team will need Egbuka to step up in his absence. So far, Egbuka looks more than ready.
The rookie out of Ohio State has been impressive all throughout training camp, and his strong offseason continued with several impressive reps during joint practice. The sentiment coming out from local media was that Egbuka had his way with the Titans’ defensive backs.
Emeka Egbuka is SO GOOD. pic.twitter.com/aopVeUYilB
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) August 7, 2025
"He's definitely putting in the work. You know, everybody is out here raving about him, and you can see it," Lavonte David told Kay Adams about Egbuka. "He's definitely doing what he's supposed to do, and I think hes going to be a big part of our success."
J.J. Roberts shined for the Bucs in practice against Titans
Unlike Egbuka, J.J. Roberts is on the roster bubble, and is under enormous pressure to stand out if he wants to carve out a roster spot as an undrafted free agent. The Buccaneers secondary depth is crowded, but Roberts has done all the right things to separate himself from the pack.
An UNREAL pick by J.J. Roberts staying with it . Never gave up on the play. #Bucs pic.twitter.com/PT4DzqiyWq
— Matt Matera (@matty4_matera) August 7, 2025
A clip posted to X by Pewter Report’s Matt Matera shows Roberts making an incredible interception in one-on-ones against Titans rookie wideout T.J. Sheffield. It wasn’t his only highlight, as he also notched a few pass breakups in coverage during team drills.
“He’s got a lot of ability. We like that he’s versatile and he can play free [safety] and he can play nickel,” said head coach Todd Bowles. “He can cover. I saw that he can hit in college off of his tape. We know he can hit. It’s just a matter of putting everything together mentally.”
Bowles has said the starters won’t see much action in Saturday’s preseason opener, which means Roberts will get valuable game reps to build on his strong camp. With Tampa Bay placing such a premium on versatility in the secondary, Roberts appears to have an early edge over some of the other depth safeties, including fellow undrafted rookie Shilo Sanders.
Roberts may be following the blueprint of Christian Izien — a former undrafted defensive back who carved out a significant role as a rookie back in 2023 thanks to his ability to line up all over the secondary. Izien has stuck around to this day as perhaps the key depth piece in the secondary.
Roberts’ similar ability to play both safety and nickel, combined with his impressive offseason to this point, gives him a real shot to stick on the final 53-man roster.