Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Positional Notes from Bucs-Titans Joint Practices

As the Buccaneers and Titans wrapped up the second of their two joint practices on Thursday, players such as Blaine Gabbert, Luke Goedeke and Logan Hall made notable contributions

Aug 18, 2022 at 05:00 PM

Scott Smith

Senior Writer/Editor

NASHVILLE, TN - August 18, 2022 - Quarterback Blaine Gabbert #11 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during 2022 Training Camp practice with the Tennessee Titans at Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park. Photo By Tori Richman/Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans got together once again on Thursday, and perhaps the most entertaining portion of their two-hour shared workout was a one-on-one period pitting Tampa Bay receivers against Tennessee defensive backs in the red zone.

The tighter confines around the end zone made a drill that typically tilts toward the offense a bit more competitive and the Titan defenders made a number of notable plays. For the Buccaneers, there were a couple of standout performers, including Scotty Miller, who got open and caught the pass on all three of his reps (though admittedly one was just out of bounds). The star of that particular show, from the Bucs' point of view, was undrafted rookie wideout Devin Thompkins. Team Writer Brianna Dix took a closer look at his impressive outing.

There were other developments of note at positions other than wide receiver on Thursday, however, as the team rebounded from a low-energy performance on Wednesday.

"I wasn't pleased with the team [on Wednesday]," said Head Coach Todd Bowles. "It wasn't the defensive backs, it was the team. Today I thought everybody had a lot more energy and played hard. We still made a few mistakes but they played as a team, they played together and they communicated well and we got something out of it today."

Other positional news:

* Quarterback: Eleventh-year veteran Blaine Gabbert has filled in as the starting quarterback while Tom Brady has been away from the team attending to personal matters. Gabbert only played briefly in the preseason opener but completed all five of his passes, including one for a touchdown to wide receiver Jaelon Darden. The Bucs have relied on Gabbert as their primary backup to Brady for three years in large part because they value his experience and knowledge of the offense. That shows in practice, as well.

"He's been good," said Bowles of Gabbert's current role as the lead quarterback. "It's been great for him mentally. The plays might not be there all the time but the mental reps and what he's getting, and making the right play is very important, not just making a 'wow' play. He's been making the right plays so it's been great to have him there."

* Outside linebacker: After Cam Gill suffered a Lisfranc injury in his right foot in the preseason opener, requiring surgery, the Buccaneers quickly went out and signed former Las Vegas Raider Carl Nassib. Nassib is also a former Buccaneer, having spent two productive seasons (2018-19) in Tampa before signing with the Raiders, the second of which was in the Bucs' current defensive system. Nassib will still need some time to reintegrate himself into the defense fully but the coaches have found a way to get him into the mix immediately.

"We tailored some things for him where he could just go in and play and didn't have to think as much, and he handled the work load pretty good as far as him being in shape," said Bowles. "We'll start to expand what he knows as he goes forward but he did a good job going in there."

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NASHVILLE, TN - August 18, 2022 - Wide Receiver Deven Thompkins #83 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before 2022 Training Camp practice with the Tennessee Titans at Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park. Photo By Kyle Zedaker/Tampa Bay Buccaneers