10 Observations from Day 1 of Jaguars, Buccaneers Joint Practices

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers arrived at the Miller Electric Center on Tuesday for the first of two joint practice sessions with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and within the first two plays of organized team work, the session had already produced a touchdown, a shoulder scare, and a full-team scuffle.

Here is a complete breakdown of our takeaways from Day 1.

1. BTJ Injury Scare

Tuesday carried meaningful personal significance for Brian Thomas Jr. even before a snap was taken. Two years ago, a joint practice against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers served as a clear turning point in what had been a difficult rookie training camp. On Tuesday, he made a similar early entrance. On the very first play of 11-on-11 work, Trevor Lawrence connected with Thomas on an incredible diving touchdown catch at the back of the end zone that brought both sidelines to attention. However, on the play, Thomas landed hard on his shoulder. He came back for one additional play before being pulled to the sideline, where the training staff checked him out for an extended stretch. Liam Coen addressed the situation after practice, saying Thomas came down on his shoulder and that the team will be cautious with him heading into the week, with the goal of getting him fully ready for Cleveland in Week 1.

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2. Tempers Flare Early

Joint practices have a reputation for physical intensity, and Tuesday had no shortage of moments. Anton Harrison was involved in a scuffle on the second play of practice. Shortly after, Buccaneers tackle DeMonte Capehart exchanged punches with Wyatt Milum. Yet, the biggest moment came when Bhayshul Tuten broke off a 15-yard run and Walker Little stumbled into Buccaneers linebacker Alex Anzalone, which ignited a larger skirmish. Punches were thrown by Tuten and a Tampa Bay defensive back, and Trevor Lawrence stepped in, physically pulling Anzalone away from the pile. The crowd reacted loudly to the hair on hair battle.

3. Josh Cameron Steps Up

With Thomas sidelined for the majority of practice and Jakobi Meyers not participating, Cameron and CJ Williams absorbed a significant volume of work Tuesday. Cameron had the bigger individual day of the two, catching a red-zone touchdown from Lawrence, hauling in two passes in two-minute drill work, including a 20-yard contested catch through traffic in the middle of the zone, and continuing to demonstrate the strong hands that have made him a consistent training camp standout.

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4. Parker and Strange Chop Wood

With the receiver room shorthanded, Washington and Strange took over on Tuesday. Washington had arguably the play of the day on offense, climbing the ladder in the red zone to outjump cornerback Jacob Parrish and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. for a contested catch that drew a strong reaction from the offensive sideline. He added two more gains of 30-plus yards, one on a crosser and another on a deep out-breaking route.

Strange was equally sharp, bringing in a difficult back-shoulder throw from Lawrence down the sideline for 40 yards and adding two more catches in traffic for first downs in a later period. The tight end room has been one of the more consistent units throughout the multiple offseason joint practices.

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5. Run Game Ramps Up

The Bhayshul Tuten story of the day was a two-act performance. In the first act, Antoine Winfield Jr. came up and punched the ball free on contact, a fumble that landed as a reminder of the ball security narrative that followed Tuten throughout his 2025 NFL Draft process. In the second act, he bounced a run to the outside, hit the sideline, and went 50 yards with only one Buccaneers defender able to get a hand on him, and that defender barely grazed his shoulder. Obviously, the ball security will be something to watch as we head into the regular season.

Chris Rodriguez added a complementary outside run of his own, finding a hole and bouncing it to the edge for a solid gain, to add to multiple strong red-zone runs. The backfield is still a timeshare built on two very different skill sets, and Tuesday showcased both at their best (and potential worst) simultaneously.

6. Both Pass Rushes Find Success

Jacksonville’s recently shuffled offensive line gave Buccaneers defensive tackle Calijah Kancey genuine opportunities, and he converted often. Kancey got to Lawrence twice in team periods for sacks and added a third would-be sack during the two-minute drill. That production line was also reflected in the defensive line, offensive line one-on-one period. The cumulative count for Tampa Bay sacks during teams was three to four would-be takedowns, depending on the source.

If there was a player of the day on either roster, the answer was not close. Josh Hines-Allen went 5-for-6 in one-on-one pass rush drills, including a win against All-Pro right tackle Tristan Wirfs that was one of the more impressive individual reps of the entire training camp period. In team periods, he followed that up by recording no fewer than four sacks, including a strip sack in a late period.

7. It’s Not Just JHA

Hines-Allen’s performance headlined a productive day for the Jacksonville front across the board, but it wasn’t only him to show up. Travon Walker also recorded two sacks. Davon Hamilton had a sack and a pressure that forced a Baker Mayfield throwaway. Ruke Orhorhoro added a sack during the two-minute drill. The collective total for Jacksonville was somewhere between six and seven sacks depending on the count, a number that stands in stark contrast to the 27th-ranked sack unit the Jaguars fielded a year ago. Three forced fumbles and two interceptions rounded out a dominant defensive day that had the entire Jacksonville crowd in attendance jumping from start to finish.

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8. Bucs Start Hot; Jax D Takes Over

To be fair to Tampa Bay, the early portions of the session belonged to their offense. Bucky Irving opened team periods with a long outside run that gave the Buccaneers the first explosive play of the day. Mayfield followed by connecting with Chris Godwin on a deeper throw for a second consecutive Buccaneers explosive play. After those early moments, however, Jacksonville’s defense settled in and the Tampa Bay offense struggled to generate consistent production. Campanile’s unit won the majority of the session convincingly after the opening early periods.

• Three occasions where the Jacksonville defense forced a fumble, via contact or punchout

• Two interceptions (one overturned due to penalty)

• One touchdown was surrendered in the teams periods (a Ted Hurst TD)

A dominant day by the Jacksonville defense, no matter who’s scoring the match.

9. AJ and Buster Come Up Big

One of the most impressive defensive plays of the day carried an official asterisk. Antonio Johnson returned an interception for what would have been a pick-six in the two-minute drill, only for the play to be wiped out by a pass interference penalty on Travis Hunter away from the ball. On the very next snap, Johnson came up with a pass breakup, stripping the ball on the sideline for the incompletion.

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Cornerback Montaric Brown had his own would-be pick-six on an overthrown, tipped pass breakup via Eric Murray. He also added a forced incompletion covering Ted Hurst in a separate period, jumping with the receiver with a hand through the pocket to end the drive.

10. Hunter’s Mixed Day and the Secondary

Cornerback Travis Hunter gave up no fewer than four catches on the day, with Buccaneers receiver Ted Hurst winning two reps of 20-plus yards while Hunter was trailing in coverage. He did add a pass breakup to the tally, but it was a rougher afternoon in coverage than the ones he has had in the earlier camp performances. Both Christian Braswell and Jabbar Muhammad also contributed pass breakups on the day.

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In the safety room, Jalen Huskey had a strong day, registering two pass breakups in the same session, wrapping up an active showing from the back end of the Jaguars’ secondary that should give Anthony Campanile something to work with when he reviews the film.

Next Up

Day 2 of joint practices with Tampa Bay is scheduled for Wednesday. The Jaguars’ preseason finale against the Buccaneers follows at EverBank Stadium on Friday. Head coach Liam Coen has yet to confirm if starters will play in the preseason finale. However, he previously indicated the starters were unlikely to participate, though no official decision has been made.