Baker Mayfield’s big day, injury updates, Antoine Winfield Jr.’s comeback, and more anchor Buccaneers training camp highlights from Day 3
The Buccaneers were back in action on Friday and there are plenty of training camp highlights to dive into.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers wrapped up day 3 of training camp on Friday after a couple of productive practices on Wednesday and Thursday. Now it’s time to turn to the weekend, where they’ll practice one more time on Saturday and then take Sunday off. After that, the debut of pads is on the horizon. Regardless, there’s plenty to talk about after Friday’s practice, so let’s go ahead and dish on the day’s biggest highlights.
1. Baker Mayfield has his best day of practice
Baker Mayfield obviously had some fiery comments and spicy opinions on his contract negotiations with the Buccaneers when he spoke to reporters Thursday. He went full throttle in terms of shelling out details. Naturally, he came out on Friday and, based on reports, it sounds like he absolutely balled.
Mayfield threw touchdown passes to both wide receiver Emeka Egbuka and Cade Otton, the former being a 50-yard touchdown connection per Sports Illustrated’s Logan Robinson. He also connected on deep passes to Chris Godwin Jr. and Jalen McMillan. Per Fox Sports’ Greg Auman, the throw to Egbuka was arguably the best throw of camp so far.
This is huge. Mayfield said he was going to have a good season, and he’s betting on himself. If he delivers, it’s a win-win for the Buccaneers. That would mean Tampa Bay got a strong deal out of what you could call an underpaid quarterback in 2026. And if Baker’s having a good year, that means the Bucs are probably winning games, which sets them up next year to either pay him top dollar with more confidence or let him walk after a successful season and pivot to 2027 with a clear direction at the quarterback position.
Regardless, from a non-contract standpoint Friday’s practice was exactly what Mayfield and the Bucs offense needed.
2. Tristan Wirfs’ timeline remains unknown
Todd Bowles literally described Tristan Wirfs’ injury timeline as “day-to-day, week-to-week.” He says he doesn’t know an accurate roadmap right now, and that’s the nature of hamstring injuries. They’re fickle injuries that can linger and get re-aggravated at any point in time.
Wirfs was seen with a sleeve on his right leg Friday in camp, so there’s no telling how long he’ll be out until we hear something concrete from the Bucs.
The same goes for Vita Vea and his back. Bowles said the timeline is unknown for that as well.
In terms of other injury updates: A’Shawn Robinson is fine after coming up limp during Thursday’s practice. He was not on the field Friday, but Bowles said it was a maintenance day. Benjamin Morrison was seen still working off to the side, but he was in full gear per FOX Sports’ Greg Auman, and that indicates a close return.
Either way, the Buccaneers are relatively healthy after three days of training camp. That’s a good thing, and they’re hoping the injury luck continues as camp rolls on.
3. Tez Johnson stacks back-to-back strong practices
Tez Johnson had a good day on Thursday and backed that up with another strong practice on Friday. There were a couple of reports that he dropped some passes on Wednesday and had a ho-hum Day 1, but that’s to be expected on the first day of training camp for a second-year player learning a new offense.
If Johnson can continue take a step forward from the playmaker the Bucs saw last year, that’s going to add some nice depth to this receiver room. The top four are in good shape with Egbuka, Godwin Jr., McMillan, and Ted Hurst. After them, Johnson and Kam Johnson are solid players for their respective spots at WR5 and WR6.
But if Tez Johnson can take that step forward, it gives the Buccaneers and Mayfield another weapon in the passing game that could provide a real boost in 2026.
4. Benjamin Chukwuma is getting a lot of reps
With Wirfs out, the door is open for another player, and that player is Benjamin Chukwuma, the second-year left tackle out of Georgia State. Chukwuma shows a lot of promise and potential. Tampa Bay knows that, and it’s a big reason why they’ll likely carry two swing tackles on the roster this season.
Wirfs’ absence is only accelerating Chukwuma’s timeline, and that is a great thing for the Buccaneers. Let’s be honest, the last year-and-change hasn’t been kind to Wirfs in terms of his health. He missed five games (a career high) in 2025 after dealing with knee surgery that kept him out of the prior offseason. Now, it’s the hamstring issue.
The more reps Chukwuma gets, the quicker he develops, and that could turn into a big factor not just in 2026 but down the road. There are a lot of people out there who believe he could be a starting tackle in this league and his current situation is helping him get to that point a lot quicker opposed to Wirfs being on the field.
“He’s got a lot of confidence this year,” Bowles told reporters after practice. “He’s a very good football player. You know, he’s confident in the scheme now. He understands where everything goes, and it’s just a matter of reps. These are great reps for him with Tristan being down, going up against Yaya and Bain every day.”
5. Antoine Winfield Jr. is having a fantastic offseason
Bowles totally lauded safety Antoine Winfield Jr. when he spoke with reporters on Friday. It sounds like Winfield is in prime position to recapture that 2023 All-Pro form that took the league by storm.
“Winfield Jr. probably had the best spring and, so far, three days of anybody from a mental and physical standpoint,” said Bowles. “Even though the action’s not coming to him, him understanding where he needs to be to anticipate plays and take things away and make him go away without the ball coming, I think has been outstanding.
“He’s always looking for ways to get better where he can make a play, and so he’s kind of dissecting the defense inside-out to how he can help himself, and I think that’s outstanding.”
That’s huge for the secondary. When Winfield is at the top of his game, he is arguably the best safety in the NFL, top 3 at minimum. For a secondary looking to rebound, that’s the kind of guy they need on the field. The better off Winfield is, the better off this defense is. So far, it sounds like that’s exactly what’s happening in camp.
6. Chase McLaughlin bats 1.000
Training camp updates wouldn’t be complete without kicker updates. In all seriousness, Chase McLaughlin hit all seven of his attempts Friday in practice. He notched a perfect score, and that’s great because he had a good season last year after struggling a bit early on.
McLaughlin is entering a contract year, and of all the contract years people are talking about, his is on the low end of the list, which makes sense. But McLaughlin has a lot to prove, and so far in his first action in camp, he shows he’s still the reliable guy who is arguably the best kicker in Buccaneers history.
7. David Walker looks good
Much like Chukwuma developing as a depth player, defensive end David Walker has had an impressive camp, per reports. He had a sack Friday on quarterback Jake Browning and also recorded a couple of other pressures. That’s huge for the Bucs’ pass rush and for Walker himself, because he’s coming off a torn ACL. To see him producing this kind of action this quickly is a big positive for Tampa Bay.
The Bucs still don’t have pads on yet. But if Walker can turn out to be the player they think he is, and Rueben Bain Jr. continues his development while Yaya Diaby takes another step, that’s a nice three-man rotation on the outside edges that can do some damage come the regular season. The arrow is pointing up for Walker right now. Let’s hope it stays there.