The stars were literally out at Thursday’s joint practice between the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Mike Evans was mediating scrums in OG Chicago Jordan 1s.
Julio Jones was smiling from the sideline in a bucket hat. (Classic Julio Jones.)
Tom Brady was out, well, doing whatever it is he’s doing for the next ten days. (Devin White is praying for Brady’s personal matters, while others are speculating he’s simply on a family road trip to Wally World.)
And that’s fine. As is NFL standard, most of those guys won’t see much time, if any, come Saturday’s preseason opener against the Dolphins. But that doesn’t mean we’ll be spared of the high drama and intrigue.
Absentee starters mean the Bucs’ depth will get its time to shine on both sides of the ball. Which leads to coaches and execs indulging in a wider sample size for final roster decisions down the road. The good news for everyone: Even the Bucs backups are pretty damn fun to watch. Here are five things to keep an eye on at Raymond James Stadium Saturday night.
The Offensive Weapon Conundrum
One of the most apparent annual reminders of training camp is that even the worst player on the field is still extremely good at football. And it’s especially obvious in the case of the Buccaneers receivers room. Rookie Deven Thompkins looked clean this week, breaking off sharp routes, catching the ball away from his body, earning praise from guys like Chris Godwin in the process.
Jaelon Darden looks like someone you’d rather run away from than try to tackle once the ball is in his hands. Scotty Miller is still Mr. Speedy Fundamental. Cyril Grayson constantly reminds you his legs tout world-class speed. Each one of them knows they all can’t stay. Which means each one of them is going to show out as much as possible over the course of the next three games.
Future Starting Quarterback, Kyle Trask?
The bevy of aforementioned weapons means Kyle Trask will finally get a bona fide look this preseason. Trask went 4-of-15 for 35 yards and two sacks in last year’s preseason opener. This time around, he’ll likely have the luxury of throwing to a couple of Tom Brady’s usual targets with higher caliber protection—at least for the first few possessions.
“I just need to show my jump from last year, what I had to show last preseason and how much I’ve learned since then,” Trask told the Tampa Bay Times. “Just go out there and plan on playing fast. Keep improving my chemistry with the new receivers we have. They’re looking really, really good so we should be rolling Saturday night.”
Evolving Secondary Depth
The Dolphins offense was humming Thursday morning in everything from 1-on-1s to 11-on-11s. Tua looked fast, in sync, and dropped a couple of fan-hypnotic dimes down the field to both Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Hill was especially successful in toasting Tampa Bay’s defensive backs any which way he pleased.
We probably won’t get too many looks at delicious matchups like Carlton Davis or Antoine Winfield on Hill. But the Dolphins have enough offensive power—and a new offensive-minded coach—to test Tampa Bay’s secondary depth from the jump.
[airhorn] Special Teams!
Ryan Succop Some Commas was perfect for the second day in a row Thursday. Rookie Punter Jake Carmada demands your attention based on his fourth-round draft status alone. Tampa Bay’s Gunner spot is especially competitive and 100% the position I’d least like to attempt, let alone play. (It’s essentially like luging, only with an additional wrinkle of people trying to knock you unconscious.) The Bucs’ abundance of speed also bodes well for a potential garbage time return touchdown. Your dad is going to love it.
Ryan Jensen’s Sideline Jawns
Some of the loudest cheers at One Buc Place this week were for Jensen, who could be seen puttering around in a golf cart in glorious fits like this one.
The Bucs won’t have their beloved center for perhaps the next several months. But fans can at least take solace in Jensen’s arm tattoos, camouflage hats and general absence of sleeves until his inevitable triumphant return.