After the Bucs rookies got a taste of the Florida heat during the first day of rookie mini-camp on Friday afternoon, they got the other side of the Florida weather on Saturday. Practice began under overcast skies with a light wind, but those winds soon picked up and a short time later, the lightning detector went off and practice shifted into the indoor facility at the AdventHealth Training Center.
Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds, Bailey Adams and Adam Slivon were on hand Saturday for more interviews with some of the team’s rookies, as well as the second and final practice of rookie camp. Here are some of their main observations and takeaways from the afternoon at One Buc Place.
Bucs’ First- And Seventh-Round Wide Receivers Shine On Day 2
Bucs WR Tez Johnson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Friday’s practice didn’t bring a whole lot in the way of highlights from first-round wide receiver Emeka Egbuka or seventh-round receiver Tez Johnson. But that changed in a big way on Saturday afternoon.
After the team made the short jog to the indoor facility to avoid the bad weather, both Egbuka and Johnson starred. First, it was Johnson capping off the 11-on-11 period with an acrobatic catch over the middle. He used all of his 5-foot-9 frame to stretch out and make a leaping catch for what really was the first highlight play of the day.
Egbuka soon followed with a dominant 7-on-7 period. He made back-to-back catches to get it going and continued to create some significant separation throughout the rest of the period. There was a ton of variety in the ways he was winning, running a diverse selection of routes to get himself open for his quarterbacks. It wasn’t hard to see the Chris Godwin-like tendencies, either, as he served for a good safety blanket for the quarterbacks at times, too.
As for Johnson, he kept making plays in the 7-on-7s as well. He had back-to-back catches soon after Egbuka started with two straight catches, then continued to get open both near the sideline and over the middle of the field as the period wore on.
It was just a glimpse of what the two rookie receivers can bring to an already-potent Bucs offense, and it’ll only get more exciting to see what they can do when they get on the field with Baker Mayfield in the coming weeks.
Ball-Hawking Jacob Parrish Does It Again In Second Bucs Practice
Bucs CB Jacob Parrish – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Bucs head coach and defensive play-caller Todd Bowles has spoken all offseason about wanting more ballhawks, and that played a role in the selection of Kansas State cornerback Jacob Parrish in the third round of the 2025 Draft.
And it didn’t take long for Parrish to take the ball away, as he had a pick-six in Friday’s practice. He was asked about it during his session with the media on Saturday, and he said it was a good feeling that made his day.
“It means a lot to me, really, just to be able to get an interception and get a pick-six. I hadn’t gotten a pick-six in a minute, so that kind of made my day to be honest.”
Well, not long after admitting that Friday’s pick-six made his day, he came through with another one on Saturday. He jumped a route near the sideline during the 7-on-7 period, picked off the ball and took it to the house.
Shilo Sanders Makes A Good First Impression
Much has been made about the Bucs signing undrafted free agent safety Shilo Sanders, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer and current Colorado head coach Deion Sanders. Saturday was Sanders’ first chance to meet with the media in Tampa, and he made a strong first impression as soon as he walked into the room. Before beginning his press conference, he took the time to shake the hand of everyone in the room.
New Bucs safety Shiloh Sanders wanted to shake every media members’ hand before starting his first availability with us. Only player who has done that this week. He said the Bucs were the first team to call and he’s “forever grateful” that they gave him a chance. pic.twitter.com/7b6OPYe1jt
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) May 10, 2025
Sanders, who is very active on social media and has long been under the spotlight along with his brother, Shedeur, is known to have a big personality. That shined through during his media availability on Saturday, and he also said all the right things throughout his time speaking with reporters.
He talked about being grateful for the opportunity Tampa Bay has given him and will always appreciate that the Bucs were the first team to call him after the draft, saying that because of that, he will do everything he can to help the team win. He also made it clear that he’s more than willing to pay his dues, as he shared his goal of becoming the “snack guy” for the safety room.
“I’m already preparing on Sunday to get in the safety group chat for all the snacks,” Sanders said. “I’m gonna be the snack guy. We’re just gonna get it wholesale. I’m gonna have everything everybody needs. Because the meetings are really long, so I understand.”
What are the snacks of choice?
“We’ll find out on Sunday. I might have a little spreadsheet with everybody’s favorite stuff on there,” he said.
What about snacks for Sanders himself?
“I’m just a rookie,” he said with a laugh. “I’ll have to bring my own. I have to make sure the vets are good, because they’ve really been helping me and teaching me a lot of stuff. I’m really grateful for that. So, that’s the least I can do.”
Todd Bowles said Friday that Sanders is intelligent and loud, especially when it comes to making calls and communicating on defense. The former Colorado Buffalo was asked about that on Saturday, with an emphasis on the “loud” part.
“I’m just being cool right now, but I get really loud,” Sanders said. “But that’s the number thing you have to do as a safety is just be able to communicate and just be an extension of the defensive coordinator on the field.”
#Bucs HC Todd Bowles said yesterday that S Shilo Sanders was “very loud.”
Sanders gave a warning that he gets that way when he’s on the field. pic.twitter.com/wwmGjf6M6b
— PewterReport 🏴☠️ (@PewterReport) May 10, 2025
Other Notes And Observations From Day 2 Of Rookie Mini-Camp
Bucs CB Benjamin Morrison – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Second-round pick Benjamin Morrison continued to participate in individual drills on Saturday and was seen jogging off to the side during team drills. It’s clear the team will bring him along slowly as he recovers from hip surgery, but it seems that he’s on schedule (or ahead of it) through two days of rookie mini-camp.
Garrett Greene, an undrafted free agent out of West Virginia, spent his time in college as a quarterback, but he’s looking to stick in the NFL as a wide receiver. Keep an eye on Greene this offseason, as he flashed his ability to return punts on Saturday afternoon. That has value, especially as he vies for a spot that seems primed to have a fierce competition.
The Bucs have taken a big bet on offensive tackle Ben Chukwuma, giving him $300,000 to come to Tampa Bay as an undrafted free agent. He’s raw and will need some development, but he spent a lot of time with the offensive line coaches working on his footwork during Saturday’s practice.
Jacob Parrish wasn’t the only defensive player getting his hands on the football on Saturday, cornerback Roman Parodie and safety Gervarrius Owens both had pass breakups that were nearly interceptions. Parodie, an undrafted cornerback out of Ohio, made a great play on the ball near the sideline while covering first-round pick Emeka Egbuka. Owens, a veteran safety who was brought in as a tryout player, made a good play on a ball thrown over the middle, but couldn’t quite hang on for the interception.
Another tryout player, running back Owen Wright, ended practice with a good concentration play. Going over the middle into traffic, he initially tipped the ball into the air but then came down with it to close out rookie mini-camp.
– Pewter Report’s Adam Slivon contributed to this report.
