Buccaneers players make alarming comments after joint practice with Jaguars

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield seems to believe that "everybody’s picking us probably to have a losing record" for the 2026 season. 

It appears the Buccaneers' performance in their joint practice with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Tuesday won't silence takes about what Tampa Bay can and can't achieve from September through January. 

Buccaneers lacking "energy" for joint practice with Jaguars?

Per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, "Jacksonville was more physical, executed better and played with urgency" during Tuesday's practice. After that session wrapped up, Buccaneers rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter spoke with the JoeBucsFan website and shared a worrisome reaction regarding what went wrong for Tampa Bay.

"I think the energy could have been better," Trotter admitted about the Buccaneers defense. "You know, some of the vets, they talked, especially after practice. They didn’t feel like that was the standard we should hold ourselves to, especially the body language part. It’s hot out here, but you have to push past that, you know, have energy and create energy, try to make plays."

As Trotter referenced, Tampa Bay fans shouldn't necessarily lose sleep over what happened on the practice field during a hot summer day ahead of the club's preseason finale at the Jaguars this coming Friday. At this point, players around the NFL are looking forward to having a bit of a break before they go all-in on preparing for Week 1.

That said, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles went viral last December when he unexpectedly unleashed an expletive-laden rant and referred to his club's effort as "inexcusable" following a loss. This past June, Bowles suggested that some players took "plays off" amid the club's collapse that involved going from 6-2 to 8-9 en route to missing the playoffs. 

In short, Buccaneers players lacking "energy" at times was seemingly a trend during the second half of the 2025 campaign. 

Baker Mayfield: Buccaneers endured an "eye-opening" practice with Jaguars

"[The Jaguars] were playing with their hair on fire," Mayfield acknowledged after Tuesday's practice. "I’ll say that. If this was a full game, I don’t think we would have come out on the winning side of it. A little eye-opening. Gotta go back and watch the tape. It’s never as good or as bad as you think it is. From my standpoint, they outphysicaled us. That’s never what you want to have." 

Mayfield and Co. will look to correct such issues before the Buccaneers open the regular season with a matchup at the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 13.