Buccaneers Minicamp: One Rookie Impressing, While Another Misses Out
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicked off their mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, which meant the return of Tom Brady to the practice field.
"He expects perfection at all times and it’s day one of Minicamp," center Ryan Jensen said about Brady. "He hasn’t been here, but when he comes back that expectation has never changed. It was good. It really made practice feel a little bit more competitive today and the pace was unreal. It was a fast pace today.”
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While having Brady back on the field with Jensen and the rest of the available Bucs is certainly good, so is the ability for first-year players to get fully acclimated to the climate they'll start their NFL careers in.
For second-round pick Logan Hall, the defensive end taken with Tampa Bay's first spent pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, Jensen already holds him in high regard calling the rookie, "The real deal."
Last year's first-round draft pick, outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, wasn't able to fully crack the starting lineup as a rookie, but with Ndamukong Suh out of the picture Hall has a fighting chance.
And that fight is against veteran addition, Akiem Hicks.
“Well, that’s what camp is for – we’ll see what happens in Training Camp," coach Todd Bowles responded when asked about both Hall and Hicks as projected starters next to Vita Vea and William Gholston. "All of those guys are pretty versatile across the line of scrimmage, and we like the versatility of it. But, Training Camp will determine who starts down there.”
While Hall is turning heads and competing, fellow Bucs rookie - and another player many are excited about - running back Rachaad White was notably absent from Tuesday's start of minicamp.
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Bowles explained White had a personal matter to tend to and did expect him back for Wednesday's session.
“I don’t think [missing] one day is going to hurt [Rachaad White]," said Bowles.
Nobody will begrudge a young player handling their personal business of course, especially when the team itself feels compelled to excuse him to do so.
Still, it's good to hear White is expected to be back with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as we continue to monitor this minicamp, the last big observational period we get before Training Camp.
For more on this and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers check out James Yarcho and David Harrison on the Locked On Bucs Podcast!
