The Best Quotes From Day 1 of Tampa Bay Buccaneers Training Camp

Here are some of the best sound bites from Buccaneers training camp on 7/24.

Aug 3, 2023; Tampa Bay, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) participates in training camp at AdventHealth Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The Bucs are back at it as training camp has officially begun. Here are some of the best quotes from today's practice on July 24.

Bucs Head Coach Todd Bowles

On how he feels about the leadership on the defensive side of the ball following the departure of CB Carlton Davis III, OLB Shaq Barrett, and LB Devin White:

“I feel great. We’ve still got Lavonte [David], we’ve still got Vita [Vea], we’ve still got [Antoine] Winfield Jr., obviously. The guys that are taking their places…Zyon [McCollum] has started nine games last year – he’s played. K.J. [Britt] got a taste last year – he’s a natural leader for us. Joe [Tryon-Shoyinka] has been here for us for a while. And, we’ve got some hungry young guys at those positions. When you have a lot of good players, you’re either going to lose some to free agency, or some to retirement, or some to injury and you’ve got to start having somebody back behind them. I think Jason [Licht] did a good job of getting guys in here that can play and step in at the right time. They may not be the household names that you’re used to, but as the season goes on, you’re going to get to know them very well.”

On how WR Mike Evans looks and how the chemistry between him and QB Baker Mayfield is:

“The chemistry started last year. They both kind of know each other pretty well by now. Mike came back in great shape. He looks just like he did a year ago. He’s a professional. He loves to play the game. He knows what time it is, he knows when to come back and do things the right way. He’s been doing that his whole career. That’s what makes him great.”

On what makes him believe that the rushing attack can thrive under Coen’s offense:

“Liam is calling it – he’s not blocking it. We’ve got to block it [laughs]. We want to be better in the run game, obviously. We have new coaches down there [and] hopefully with the scheme and the things we put in and the players we’ve gotten, we can get better at that as camp goes on. It’s something we want to see, but we want to be balanced and we want to do what’s right to win the game. Obviously, we don’t want to be last in [rushing].”

On what the first day of training camp means to him:

“It’s always great for me, especially when you have younger guys. It’s exciting. It’s [about] trying to see how the team can come together, how the coaches can come together as a group. It’s always exciting to see what kind of pieces you have to move, what kind of adjustments you have to make, what kind of technique things you have to work on from a daily basis – as long as we’re moving towards that goal. The first day is always exciting for the coaches.”

Bucs LB K.J. Britt

On the responsibility of taking over a starting role on defense:

“I’m just working. I’m just working each day to show my teammates and show my coaches what I can do – and showing myself what I can do. I’m just going out there and making sure I do my part.”

On Head Coach Todd Bowles referring to him as the ‘unquestioned leader’ of this team:

“I talk and we have a good time, but I try to lead by how I work. I just try to go out there each play and give it my all and make sure everybody around me can see it. I just try to make it evident and try to make sure everybody knows what’s going on – the whole defense…What plays are going to be [called] against us, the down-and-distance and everything. [I am] just being a student of the game.”

On playing behind a slimmed down NT Vita Vea:

“That speed on the defensive line is going to make sure the linebackers can fly around. The offensive linemen are going to have to address them, and if they address them because they’re moving so fast and so quick, by the time they address them, me and Lavonte [David] are in the second level. We’re going to make sure we can fly around. It all helps the defense – everybody helps everybody. The defensive line helps the cornerbacks, the cornerbacks help the defensive linemen, the defensive linemen help the linebackers, the linebackers help the defensive line – it’s defense. It’s beautiful. We’ve got 11 people who can work together. It’s a thing of art. It’s not just one person – it's everybody helping everybody. Everybody slimming down, getting faster, getting leaner – it’s going to help the whole entire piece of the puzzle.”

Bucs WR Mike Evans

On raised expectations for the Buccaneers compared to expectations entering the 2023 season:

"Last year, we heard all the talk about us: we lost Tom [Brady], we're going to be trash and things like that. But we knew the caliber of players that we had, and this year, we're going to be better, I feel like. It's already showing. I know it's just day one, but OTAs were different than they were the year before. We know Baker [Mayfield] is going to be the guy. Last year, we didn't know that preparing. So it's a lot more continuity and just learning a new offense, and we'll be good."

On how he feels entering his 11th season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

"It's a blessing, always, to start a training camp healthy and go out here and just do what I love to do and live out my dream. Obviously, it's not easy. It isn't easy, but I'd rather be nowhere else than here. I'm happy I get to do this. I've been seeing pictures of me, my first camp when I was 240 pounds and out of shape, but I was just a young, just hungry kid, and I still have that same hunger. I just got smarter."

On how he continues to self-motivate after a highly accomplished first half of his career:

"Well, I'm super competitive. Y'all know that about me. Y'all have been covering me for a long time. I'm down on myself more than anybody else could be. There's more for me to do in my career. There's more that I feel I need to do. I love to win, and I'm chasing history."

READ MORE: Optimism in Tampa Bay: Buccaneers Already Appear ‘Faster’ and ‘Better’ Than Last Year

Bucs S Antoine Winfield Jr

On playing with S Jordan Whitehead again:

“It’s fun. Every opportunity that I get to go out there with Jordan [Whitehead], it’s cool. It’s so weird because obviously we played with each other my first few years in the league, and then he wasn’t here and then I have him back. It’s still surreal seeing him next to me because I didn’t think we’d play with each other again so it’s been fun. He’s a great player. He communicates and just his energy out there brings a lot to our defense.”

On how he continues to challenge himself:

“It’s doing what I’ve been doing. My goal every year is to do better than I did in the previous year and staying true to what I do every single year and every day I’m out here. I try to get better. It’s not like I’m complacent or anything. I still have goals that I want to reach and I still have things that I want to do and so I still have that mindset that I’m going to come out here, put the work in, and get better.”

On having a bigger leadership role than previous years:

“The more years that you’re in the league, [the more] guys gravitate towards you and watch how you practice. I don’t necessarily do anything different - I just be my own self and I work hard and hopefully the guys see that and they want to be like that because that’s what I did when I first came into the league. Coming in, watching guys like Tom [Brady], watching guys like ‘A.B.’ (Antonio Brown), ‘Gronk’ (Rob Gronkowski), and all those guys – how they worked when they were here, that’s something I picked up on. I feel like I’m starting to get in that role of being the older guy and I have eyes, people looking at me, seeing what I’m doing and I just hope they pick up the best qualities of how I work.”

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