2021 Buccaneers Training Camp Takeaways

Here are some things that stood out from Friday’s practice:

-The first period of full-team drills did see starters pinned against starters and in one of the first plays, rookie outside linebacker Joe Tryon was able to hurry quarterback Tom Brady, forcing him to get rid of the ball early. The result was a pass that went off the hands of tight end O.J. Howard, who wasn’t quite to his mark yet.

-Quarterback Blaine Gabbert had a ball intended for wide receiver Scotty Miller intercepted by Ross Cockrell from the safety spot. Cockrell just made an excellent read and came over to undercut the route, snatching it away from Miller.

-Cornerback Herb Miller had a great pass breakup on a long ball intended for Tyler Johnson. He tracked Johnson the whole way and made it impossible for Johnson to get a clean try at the ball.

-In seven-on-seen drills, Brady unleashed a beautiful 40-yard pass to wide receiver Mike Evans, who made the grab easy down the sideline.

-Brady attempted another deep ball immediately after, this one to Miller, who ended up making the catch after leaping up in the air but he couldn’t quite get both feet inbounds on the way back down. It was a heck of an effort by Miller, though.

-Rookie quarterback Kyle Trask showed off an arm of his own as he went deep for running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn, streaking down the sideline. Vaughn caught it easily, proving that he’s indeed been working on his pass-catching ability this offseason.

-In the red zone period, Brady hit rookie wide receiver Jaelon Darden in the corner of the end zone for a score.

-From the 10-yard line, fans were treated to a Brady-Gronk ‘tuddy’ as tight end Rob Gronkowski made a great move to cut to the outside behind inside linebacker Joe Jones to get open. Brady fired and Gronk crossed the goal line easily.

-It was quarterback Ryan Griffin’s turn to impress with an excellent throw to the very back of the end zone as wide receiver T.J. Simmons was skimming the line. Cornerback Dee Delaney was right there with him but 83 snatched the ball out of the air and away from the defender to get the score.

-Vaughn wasn’t done for the day on impressive catches as he made a hard-fought diving grab from Griffin right at the goal line for the score. Vaughn trotted off the field to a high five from Brady, who was clearly impressed with the catch.

-In the last period of full-team drills, outside linebacker Anthony Nelson tipped a ball at the line over the middle and it almost ended in an interception for safety Javon Hagan, but he couldn’t quite hold on to make the catch.

-Trask again showed off his cannon with a long ball to wide receiver Jaydon Mickens, who then pulled a quick spin move to leave two defenders on the ground as he jogged the rest of the way into the end zone.