TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have gone camping.
The team on Tuesday held the first of three mandatory mini-camp practices. It’s a continuation of the Bucs’ offseason training and a continuation of the team’s quest to put last season behind them.
The Bucs are coming off a season where they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019. They started the season 6-2, but lost seven of their last nine games.
And they are taking the steps necessary to right the ship. One of those steps is the three-day mandatory minicamp that kicked off at the team’s practice facility.
“I think they’re getting the schemes down on both sides,” said Coach Todd Bowles. “That’s important.”
Players hit the practice fields, running through a variety of drills. The wide receivers ran through the paces while getting used to life without Mike Evans, the future Hall of Famer who signed with San Francisco in the offseason.
Defensively, there are a lot of new faces on that side of the ball, including a mostly new defensive assistant coaching staff. And Baker Mayfield led the quarterback group, fine-tuning an offense that features the team’s fifth different offensive coordinator in the past five years.
“I feel like we’ve made some really good strides throughout the offseason in terms of Day 1 install, with everybody just trying to understand the concepts of what we’re going to focus on,” Mayfield said.
These will be the last practices for the team until training camp opens on July 30. The workouts are geared toward getting the team prepared for when the pads come on.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield gets work in during Tuesday’s mini-camp practice. (Spectrum Sports 360/Katherine Smith)
Before last season, the Bucs had won four straight NFC South Division titles. These practices are getting them back on the winning track.
“I think we’ve come a long way,” Mayfield said. “Still a lot of work to be done. But I think the vets have grasped it and really taken ownership of it. And I think the young guys are kind of falling in suit.”
The Bucs play their first preseason game on Aug. 14 at the New York Jets. They open the regular season on Sept. 13 at the Cincinnati Bengals, with their home opener the following Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.