Will Any Injured Bucs Be Ready For Mini-Camp?

Jensen elected not to have surgery last year and is taking it slowly but surely this offseason. He was at Tuesday’s OTA, which was open to the media, but just as a spectator to be around the team. Todd Bowles spoke about Jensen, who was wearing a knee brace, after practice and was very vague about his availability in next week’s mandatory mini-camp.

“We’ll see how he’s feeling,” Bowles said. “It’s off and on with that. We’ll see how he feels in camp.”

The good thing for the Bucs is they have great depth on the interior offensive line. Robert Hainsey, who started at center during the entire 2022 regular season with Jensen out, can go back to that position when Jensen isn’t around while also being the top backup guard when everybody’s healthy. Nick Leverett started for Tampa Bay at guard last year but been getting reps at center this offseason, too.

Rookie UDFA RB Making His Bucs Debut?

In a different scenario, the Bucs were very excited about rookie undrafted free agent running back Sean Tucker. Unfortunately, Tucker had a heart condition that caused him to go undrafted despite his talented skillset. Tucker has been watching practice each day, but unable participate yet. Bowles gave a little bit more of an update on his status.

“I haven’t been told anything thus far,” Bowles said. “I’d expect him some time around training camp – I’m not sure about next week.”

Rachaad White is going to be the top running back for the Bucs this year, but Tucker could be in the running for the second spot behind him. Tampa Bay has veterans Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Chase Edmonds in the backfield along with practice squad player Patrick Laird. The player that has probably stood out the most, though, is fellow undrafted free agent Ronnie Brown.

Baker Mayfield Breaks News On Russell Gage

Another player we haven’t seen at practice yet is wide receiver Russell Gage. Todd Bowles has declined to talk about injuries at this point of the season, but it was Baker Mayfield a few weeks ago that may have revealed something is up with the wide receiver, as Mayfield was answering a question complimenting the whole wide receiver room.

“Russ [Gage Jr.] had a little bit of an injury last week, but he was doing really well before that,” Mayfield said. “We’ve got a ton of speed, a lot of young speed. I’m just trying to get these guys to find their roles and find their place in this system.We’re excited about what we can be with all of the weapons that we have.”

The scary part is that Gage got injured in training camp last year and it played a part in derailing his season as he never fully recovered from a hamstring injury. Tampa Bay doesn’t need another repeat performance of a season that underwhelmed in expectations.

We’ll have to wait and see next week if he’s around.

Defensive Questions

Defensively, the main injury question surrounds outside linebacker Shaq Barrett, who is coming off of a torn Achilles tendon in a Week 8 loss against Baltimore. Barrett won’t be expected back anytime soon. His target date for return is sometime in August during training camp – or perhaps September prior to the season, depending on how much progress Barrett makes in rehab.

There’s still a question of another high profile defender arriving at mandatory mini-camp – inside linebacker Devin White. But that’s another Pewter Report article completely.