Buccaneers Day 1 OTA Practice Notes
JoeBucsFan.com • • sports
Key Points:
- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers held their first open OTA practice at One Buc Palace amid windy and overcast conditions, with temperatures near 90 degrees, though coach Todd Bowles humorously described the weather as "winter."
- Emeka Egbuka impressed early, making a one-handed catch and scoring a touchdown during seven-on-seven drills, signaling readiness for the regular season.
- Several key players, including Vita Vea (working out with Ndamukong Suh out west), YaYa Diaby, Chris Braswell, and Al-Quadin Muhammad, were absent for personal or religious reasons, while backups received significant practice reps.
- The practice was strictly "underwear football" with no tackling allowed, focusing on passing and route-running; notable plays included connections between Baker Mayfield and receivers like Jalen McMillan and Chris Godwin, as well as rookie tight end Bauer Sharp's heads-up catch after a batted pass.
- The second OTA session is scheduled for the following day but will be closed to media access.