The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will hold the first practice of their 2022 training camp on Wednesday, July 27, beginning a league-mandated ramp-up period that eventually leads to full-padded two hour workouts by the start of the following week. One way or another, Tampa Bay players will begin making headlines that first day and won't stop until it's done. Hopefully most of those are positive pieces of news – the offense is thriving, the defense is jelling, sleepers are emerging, coaches are happy.
But there's all kinds of news that comes out of training camp and the preseason. There are still a couple contracts to be signed, players incur or recover from injuries, depth charts get shaken up. Everything is a potential headline.
All this week, Digital Contributor Amy Schwartz, Staff Writer/Reporter Brianna Dix and I are engaging in a series of roundtable discussions regarding the Buccaneers upcoming training camp. You can find the schedule of our daily topics below. Today, we are going to think ahead and envision something we hope to see when it's all over.
Specifically, this is today's Roundtable question: What is one headline you would most like to see in the local or national media regarding the Buccaneers when training camp and the preseason are over?
· Monday, July 4: Name a sleeper on the Buccaneers' 90-man camp roster who you will be keeping a close eye on.
· Tuesday, July 5: What is the best test a player or unit on the Bucs' roster will get during the joint practices with the Dolphins and Titans?
· Wednesday, July 6: What is a headline you hope to be reading about the Buccaneers as training camp and the preseason comes to an end?
· Thursday, July 7: Which Buccaneer do you think most needs to have a strong camp and preseason showing?
· Friday, July 8: Identify a one-on-one battle between two Buccaneers that you are most looking forward to seeing in camp practices.
Training camp will officially break around mid-August but, of course, the team will keep on practicing right up until the season opener against Dallas on September 11. The final preseason game is on Saturday, August 27. So let's look at this way: This is a headline you want to encounter on the first day of the Dallas week, as we transition into the regular season.
Duplicate answers between the three of us are not allowed, so order of selection sometimes matters and we are rotating that order all week. This is my first shot at the pole position, with Amy second and Brianna third. So I'll get us started…
Scott Smith: "Chris Godwin Full Go for Start of the Season"
Wide receiver Chris Godwin, who is a critical part of the Buccaneers' offense many different ways, tore an ACL on December 5 in a game against the New Orleans Saints. Since then, he's had surgery and has worked through months of rehabilitation. While most of his teammates were going through the offseason program and getting on the field for OTAs and minicamp, Godwin was attacking his rehab with the focus everyone knew he would. In the meantime, he also signed a lucrative new long-term contract with the Buccaneers after first receiving the franchise tag.
Head Coach Todd Bowles steadfastly refused to put a specific timetable on Godwin's recovery or throw out a target date for his return to the field. Godwin didn't set a specific goal, either, at least back when he spoke upon signing his contract in late March, but he did see he was very pleased with how his recovery is going. I would suspect that he will be given the active/physically unable to perform designation when camp begins. Teams do that when a player is not ready to begin practicing at the start of camp but could become ready somewhere along the way. If they are still not good to go when the regular season arrives, they are then eligible to be moved to the reserve/PUP list, after which they must miss at least the first six games of the season.
I'd be happy enough if Godwin does not start the season on reserve/PUP, since that would mean the team has hopes that he will miss fewer than the first six games. But the headline I'd really like to read, if I'm being greedy here, is that Godwin will be in uniform on September 11 against the Cowboys. At the time of his injury last year, Godwin was averaging a career-high 7.0 receptions per game. With three-and-a-half games still to go, he was well on his way to breaking the Bucs' single-season record of 106 catches, set by Keyshawn Johnson in 2001. He clearly has a great rapport with Tom Brady, he's an absolute beast in the slot and he's essential to the quick passing game Brady used last year to thwart Cover Two defensive looks. And Godwin is one of the best run-blocking receivers in the league and an active participant in the team's rushing schemes.
I'm looking to that first day Godwin runs out to take part in practice, and I'm hoping it begins a process that sees him ready to go on Day One.
Amy Schwartz: "Buccaneers Offensive Line Shines, Sets Standard for Offense"
I would like to echo Scott and say I am rooting for his headline as training camp and preseason come to an end. My second pick for the top headline would be Buccaneers Offensive Line Shines, Sets Standard for Offense.
During quarterback Tom Brady's two seasons in Tampa Bay, so far, we have seen just how critical the offensive line is to the success of the Bucs season. The Bucs were able to keep their line intact for two seasons but this offseason was quite the different story. The beginning of the offseason seemed as if the offensive line could return depleted following Ali Marpet's retirement and Alex Cappa being signed in free agency by the Cincinnati Bengals but somehow, the Bucs seemed to have come out on top. The continuity of the line has kept Brady healthy and added to the strength of the passing game the last two seasons. I think training camp will be incredibly important for the group to continue to build new chemistry in order to keep the offense firing on all cylinders.
The addition of former New England Patriots guard Shaq Mason should be a seamless transition given his previous relationship with Brady, but the left guard position is still one of the major questions going into the season. The Buccaneers drafted Luke Goedeke with the 57th overall pick and it's obvious he will be pushing for the starting position but Aaron Stinnie and Nick Leverett could make their own pushes to secure the starting role.
While the left guard position is a question, the veteran leadership of Ryan Jensen, Donovan Smith and Tristan Wirfs all but guarantees the line will have success again this season. I am looking to see the offensive line make a statement and be the firm foundation the Buccaneers' offense needs heading into the 2022 season.
Brianna Dix: "Joe Tryon-Shoyinka 'Turning Heads' During Training Camp"
The Buccaneers declined to re-sign Jason Pierre-Paul and second-year player Joe Tryon-Shoyinka will have an increased role on the Bucs' defense in 2022, opposite Shaquil Barrett. During training camp, Tryon-Shoyinka will strive to cement his role in the starting lineup. This is perhaps an under-the-radar headline but nonetheless, a pivotal one to solidify the defense.
The Bucs selected Tryon-Shoyinka in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Washington. To maximize his time on the field, Tryon-Shoyinka became a rotational chess piece in his rookie campaign. He was asked to play a variety of roles including rushing from the edge, lining up as a three-technique and fulfilling off-ball linebacker duties in coverage. In 560 defensive snaps last season, Tryon-Shoyinka posted 10 quarterback hits, five tackles for loss, three passes defensed and 4.0 sacks. Pierre-Paul became an unrestricted free agent in March, following a season that limited him to 12 games with a shoulder injury. Now, Tryon-Shoyinka will have the chance to specialize in a stationary role as a 3-4 defensive end/outside linebacker. One of the biggest leaps for Tryon-Shoyinka in Year Two is understanding pursuit angles of entry both on the outside and inside, along with assessing his advantages versus an offensive lineman to counteract the opposition.
Tryon-Shoyinka is bendy for his frame and despite the limited sample size in the NFL and as a Husky – one-year starter before opting out of the 2020 season and declaring for the NFL Draft – he presents an upside; not having to un-learn the bad habits developed in college during the acclimation period. His prior experience as an athlete have translated to his pass-rush arsenal: Basketball taught lateral agility and baseball engaged hip movement/hand-eye coordination to cultivate success on the turf. With raw athleticism, Tryon-Shoyinka will transition from a Bucs' rotational depth option to a defensive cornerstone. Developing his craft during training camp will build the foundation for the 2022 season. From flashes on certain sub packages to a full-time role, Tryon-Shoyinka is focused on exceeding expectations in 2022 and showcasing the skills that made him a first-round selection.
Career trajectories can change in an instant and I am hopeful that this training camp will mark Joe Tryon's Shoyinka's emergence as a Buccaneer!