The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback room just took a major turn. After re-signing Kyle Trask to a one-year deal this offseason, the team is releasing him with an injury settlement following a preseason shoulder injury. With Trask out, Teddy Bridgewater slides into the QB2 role behind Baker Mayfield, and rookie Connor Bazelak could stick on the practice squad. On this episode of The Bucs Report Podcast, host Dan Holmi welcomes Louie Leitao of the Frozen Pirate Podcast to break down what Trask’s departure means for Tampa Bay, Bridgewater’s fit as the backup, and how the Bucs may approach their QB future. The conversation also covers the Buccaneers waiving Shilo Sanders after his preseason ejection, plus full preseason takeaways including Tez Johnson’s breakout, depth concerns on the offensive line, and the battle for roster spots. Finally, Dan and Louie look ahead to Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons — with Baker Mayfield leading the offense, Tristan Wirfs’ health in question, and the Bucs labeled as a potential dark horse contender in the NFC.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
On today's show, changes in the quarterback room for the Bucks.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Next don this edition of the Box Report, Let's get it.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Well.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Hello, Endo, Welcome into this edition of the Box Report podcast,
part of the Box Report podcast Network. I'm so glad
you decided to join me today. As always, this podcast
is free and available on all the major platforms. My
name is Holmie. You can find me on Twitter. It's
at dan caps two and eight. You can find the
show online It's Bucksreport dot com. And the best way
(01:08):
that you can help grow this show is to subscribe
or follow the Bucks Report podcast on Apple, Spotify, or
wherever you find your podcast. Give it a five star rating,
leave some comments and tell your friends. I sure would
appreciate it. So in this edition of the Bucks Report podcast,
Louis from the Frozen Pirate podcast joins me. Louis, Welcome
(01:31):
to the show.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
What's going on? Man? Happy to be here.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
As always, I've done a little bit with the Bucks
Report last season.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Looking forward to this season. A lot to talk about.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
Obviously a pretty big day for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
We're going to get into that. A lot of good
things and a lot of questionable things on the agenda.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
To with the cut the cut list there.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Yeah, So I was writing the show today and I
kind of was writing it throughout the day, and I
know that it was not a great idea just considering
the time of the season it is that there's cuts
being made. I'm like, well, this is pretty good. I'm
going to go ahead and send this in my notes.
And then tonight a flurry of action that Kyle Trask
is waived and the future of Kyle Trask a bit
(02:16):
up in the air, something that shouldn't be too surprising,
but we are where we're at right now, so let's
dive into that here. First, the Buccaneers appeared committed to
Kyle Trask this off season when they signed him to
a one year, two point seven eight million dollar deal,
but his struggles in camp in preseason, paired with Teddy
bridgewaters emergence, shifted the quarterback room. After Trass suffered a
(02:39):
shoulder injury, the Bucks are releasing him with an injury
settlement that leaves Baker Mayfield as the starter. Of course,
Bridgewater as the backup, and Connor Beaslack likely stashed out
on the practice squad. So the question for you, question
number one, what was your first reaction when you saw
the news that Aisle Trask was being released after the
(03:02):
Bucks just re signed him this off season.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
I really wasn't too surprised, Dan, just because of the
simple fact this is a guy who was drafted during
the Brady era. We all thought, including myself, figured this
was the quarterback of the future, but unfortunately it didn't
pan out that way. And obviously the organized organization and
the Buccaneer coaches, et cetera. They they've got a better
(03:27):
look at Kyle Trask, and we really haven't seen much
of Kyle Trask. There was some things in the preseason.
He came out very how can I say he came
out strong the first preseason game right and after that
it was just very lackluster.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
We were talking about this just before we.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
Went on, and there's a lot of questionable things that
I've seen with Kyle, his throwing motion, questionable decisions that
he makes, you know. So to answer your question, was
I surprised, No, I just the writing was on the
wall when they brought in Teddy Bridgewater and I just
knew from there that, hey, I think it's probably time
(04:07):
they're going to move on from Kyle I thought they
were going to keep him on the roster just because
maybe they could use him for trade, because there's a
lot of trading going on right now. Well, they was
because there are teams out there that are gonna get
desperate for a quarterback. I wouldn't be surprised if the
lands somewhere very quickly, though.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Yeah, the tough thing for Trask. And if we can
rewind time a little bit, we remember when Baker Mayfield
first came here and there was this supposed quarterback battle,
which I never really bought into. I think it was
just tactics to make both quarterbacks get the best out
of both of them. I don't think that Baker Mayfield
was ever too concerned about it. But that's where we're at,
(04:48):
and this, you know, in camp here, we saw that
Baker Mayfield suffered a hand contusion and I think that
is what shot a shot across the bow of the
Buccaneers Jason Ly like, uh oh, we might be going
into the start of the season with Kyle Trask, a
relatively unproven commodity in the NHL, and I think that
(05:10):
that was a scary thought for them. So, you know,
if you look back historically, there is a history with
Teddy Bridgewater and the Buccaneers that you know, he was
supposed to have joined this team at different points along
his career, but it seemed like the right fit right
now in a very small sample size. What have you
noticed in what do you like about Teddy Bridgewater's game?
Speaker 4 (05:32):
He's very confident in the pocket, he can he throws
a pretty ball outside. I know a lot of people
are upset with him because of the capacity threw to McMillan. Listen,
that can happen on any given play.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
It happens. Things like that happen.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
But I so if if they came down to you know,
Baker going down and knock on Wood, I hope that
doesn't happen. I would feel a lot more uncomfortable with
Teddy Bridgewater just because he has more experience and more
playing time.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Kyle has very.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
Limited playing time, especially with you know, starters and so forth.
Teddy has more, like I said, more experience. His career
was kind of he had a lot of stepbacks with
injuries and stuff.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
But I mean, if you.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
Ask me who you would want under center, Trask or
Teddy Bridgewater, I'm gonna go with Teddy Bridgewater just because
I feel like he can really lead the team UH
to some victories.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Kyle, I don't have a lot of faith in him.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
And you know, to rewind, like what you were just
talking about, you know what I thought when when we're
going to go back to when Dave Canalis first came in,
I thought him and Canalis were gonna be a good match,
just because you know, you would think they wasted a
second round pick on this guy, uh local guy. Not
only that he sat behind Brady full Was it two years?
(06:50):
I believe it was two years he sat behind Tom
uh and you would think that they're bringing in, you know,
Dave Canalis, and you saw what Dave Canalis did with
Gino Smith. He did fantastic with him, and now you
see what he's doing with uh Bryce Young there in Carolina.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
I thought that was going to be the match and
I and if it was.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
If there was ever a time for Kyle to take
the starting job, it was then. And as soon as
Baker came in, you know, obviously, like you just said,
you know, there was really no quarterback competition. Once they
brought Baker in, I kind of figured, I'm like, I
don't think they're gonna go with Kyle, because if they
believed in Kyle, they wouldn't have brought in a guy
like Baker Mayfield because we all knew Baker could still go.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
It's just I believe with this system and this quarter
I mean, and these receivers and running backs in the
offensive line, at the time, it was I'm not saying Baker.
I mean, I'm not saying it's like Baker has nothing
to do with the success of the team. But I
mean you could put pretty much I wouldn't say any quarterback,
but a lot of these quarterbacks you can put back there.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
It's plug and play.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
The offense, the guys, the weapons that are on this team,
it's a quarterback stream. So but with Kyle and Baker,
you know, like I said, when Baker came in here,
I knew he was going to be the guy, and
I just knew the writing was on the wall. And
if there was a time, like I just said, if
there was a time, he would have took the start
and job. But he didn't, and we haven't seen anything
from Kyle, So I think it's just time to I
(08:08):
think they did the right decision part ways, because at
this point you'd just taken up a roster spot.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
In my opinion, it was.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
One of those tough things that it was always supposed
to be his time, but never was his time. And
that's kind of the hard part about being a backup
quarterback is unless there's an injury to your starter or
the starter just turns into a horrible quarterback, some seasons
will go by and you get no opportunity. I think
that most recently, Kyle Trask had mop up duty against
(08:36):
Atlanta last season, and so not a lot of experience,
and there's a lot of pressure on you in that
brief snippet. You better impress or people are going to
call you garbage. I cover a hockey team as well,
and they have backup goalies and even they get more
played than backup quarterbacks get. So to a certain extent,
I think it's a bit unfair for backup quarterbacks that
(08:58):
they really need to impress. Otherwise, like I say, people
are willing to just say quite horrible things about you.
So now you take a look at the quarterback room,
it is going to be Baker, it's going to be
Teddy and then Basilac. I guess is how how the
trajectory of all this is going to unfold here, and
it's it's one of the things follow the bouncing ball,
(09:20):
because I've heard not too long ago before this happened,
like a week or so ago, that it was going
to be Trask as the backup and then they were
going to try to hide Teddy Bridgewater in on the
practice squad or something. As it turns out, it was
kind of an evolution. And I think that what we
saw against in the most recent game here made it
quite apparent that he wasn't up for the task at hand.
(09:42):
But when you take a look at it, was it
the right decision to make? Is that the move you
would have made? Are you just going with Teddy Bridgewater
because he has more experience on his NFL odometer, because
you know, the feeling was I think that, you know,
for Kyle Trask, there's there's quite a few fans in Tampa.
You know, you hear on social media that actually like him,
(10:05):
a nice guy, and you know, but you don't you
don't have guys on your team because they're nice guys.
You want guys that are gonna sling the football in
the time calls for it? Was that the right move
in your estimation going with Bridgewater over Trask.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:18):
I mean, if you look at when Bridgewater was in there,
especially against uh it was it Pittsburgh. That beautiful ball
he threw to Bucky, another one to Mecca Abuka. You know,
we really haven't seen that out of Kyle. Kyle made
some decent throats, but again, his vision on the field
is not day like. Take, for instance, the last game
against the Bills. It was a third and eight and
(10:40):
TESJ Johnson was running and he could have hit Tez.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
If you don't get the first down, you don't get
the first down.
Speaker 4 (10:46):
But the way Tesz is, he's a shifty receiver, he's quick,
he's small, he's fast. You gotta let a guy like
that make a play. It's the preseason. You got to
try to keep that drive alive.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Instead. I don't know what he did with the ball.
Speaker 4 (10:58):
He just kind of threw it and it was just
income just his field awareness, it's just not there, Like
he can't I don't want to say he can't hit
the open guy. But I from what I've seen throughout
this preseason, I would have made the same move that
the Buccaneers did. I would have kept Teddy Bridges water because,
like I said, he made beta throws and he looked
(11:20):
more confident versus where Kyle it was almost like, I
wouldn't say robotic, it was almost like he's stuck in
practice mode, if that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Yeah, And it's a tough thing. Like I say, I
was kind of always you know, there was always two camps,
and I was kind of hoping that Trask will get it.
But like I say, at the end of the day,
I want the most qualified players out on the field.
All right, So coming up here after the break, we'll
talk about the Bucks Wave Shiloh Sanders. Is anyone surprised,
not me? We'll discuss straight ahead.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
All right.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Welcome back into this edition of the Bucks Report, part
of the Bucks Report podcast simulcast on the Bucks minute
Cast podcast feed. In this episode, I have Louis Lttel
of the Frozen Pirate podcast. Louis, welcome back to the show.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
Here.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Let's dive into segment two. Here, this is what I
was gonna lead with. And you know, the interesting thing
is Shilo Sanders. You know, it's a lot about who
his dad is, right, and name recognition and all of
those things. But talking about him wave the Bucks made
headlines this weekend after waving rookie safety Shilo Sanders, of course,
one of Hall of Famer Dion Sanders. Shiloh was competing
(12:32):
for the final safety spot, but an ejection in the
preseason finale for throwing a punch against Bill's tight end
Zach Davidson, plus earlier penalties put this roster chance in jeopardy.
Todd Bowles called the move quote unexcusable, unquote and the
Bucks are moving on. So the question what was your
first reaction when you heard the Bucks wave Shilo Sanders
(12:56):
right after the ejection?
Speaker 4 (12:59):
A little disappoint and it just because I expected more
of this kid.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
I do think he has a lot of talent.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
I think he can contribute, but unfortunately, the first thing
you gotta do, and this is with anything in life,
you have to check your emotions at the door.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
You have to handle yourself like a professional.
Speaker 4 (13:12):
And he just kind of he looked very frustrated because
I think the pressure got to him, because you know,
he's a kid who's in the shadow of his father.
You know, unfortunately, with Dion primetime and if you grew
up in the late eighties early nineties, those cowboy teams
at Falcon teams and you know all the other teams
(13:32):
he played on it was primetime.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
You know, those are big, big steps to follow, big
shoes to fill too.
Speaker 4 (13:38):
So when he got when I seen all this transpire,
I'm just like he lost it.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Not only did he cost himself.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
A position a practice squad, because I don't think they
would have gave up on him right away, because he's
one of those guys that he needs more time to
You got to polish him a little bit, you know
what I'm saying, He needs more time. What he did
was just frustration. Like I said, the pressure got to him.
I know he was probably listening to all the noise,
he heard, all the criticism about missing tackles, which he did.
(14:10):
He had one highlight play and that was you know,
against the Titans. You know, but you're only good as
your last play, in my opinion, especially in the preseason,
if you're trying to make this team. He didn't get
the he didn't sack the quarterback. He got a good
hit on him, clean hit, But I mean outside of that,
he didn't do much. And I think he started to
He listened to all that pressure, and I think finally
(14:32):
it boiled over and I think it got the better
of him early on in that game, and he threw
a punch and that was the end of that. And honestly,
I know Drew Rosenhaus is his agent, and I know
Rosenhaus has a good relationship with Jason Light and Todd Bowles.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
I think it was just kind of maybe a favor.
Speaker 4 (14:50):
Who knows. But I mean, I know a lot of
people are upset with it. But and I've been hearing
things about, you know, oh, you know, he bowls kind
of handle that wrong at the press conference. I don't
think he handled that wrong by any means. I just
he told the truth. Like you can't do that stuff,
especially if you're trying to make the fifty three man roster.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
You don't throw punches.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
You know, that's not something you know, like like you know,
it's like starting a new job. You know, just because
somebody aggravates you, you don't go and punch him in
the face. You know, you don't do that, especially if
you're trying to stay somewhere long term. Do I think
he's gonna end up on somebody's team. I don't think
he makes a fifty three man roster. I do think
he may end up on somebody's practice squad or I
(15:31):
think I seen some news where he somebody owns the
rights to him or something, So I think a Canadian
football league. I'm not one hundred percent short. Have to
go back and check that out. But you can't do
stuff like that, And that's to all the young kids
watching too.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
If you play.
Speaker 4 (15:44):
Football, you can't let your emotions get the better of
you like that. If you know, you just got to
keep those things in check, and you have to remain humble,
and you have to be a professional.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
You know, it's not over after you get cut. You
know that.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
He's still young, but unfortunate. I think the pressure just
dan it got to him.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
You know.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
The thing of it is is that his last name
opened doors for him. You know, his talented as well,
but it's up to him to not just ride on
his father's coat tails and to be that player. You know,
if he wants to be thought of in the same
breath as his father, then he's going to have to
bring it the same way his father brought it. So
it was a bit of a difficult thing I got
to imagine for him, and also his father, which you know,
(16:25):
I'm sure was his biggest fan. At the end of
the day, I know the answer for me, of course.
Do you think this was more of a discipline thing
or do you think it was a performance or was
it a mixture of both In your estimation.
Speaker 4 (16:38):
I think it was more of performance. I don't think
it was discipline. I think it was more of a performance.
He didn't do enough to make this team. You know,
and I've said on my show numerous of times, I said.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
This team needs football players.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
Like they have a lot of depth, they have a
good infusion of youth, and even on the nine man roster,
there's so much talent. That's why these positions are hard
to come by with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, especially at
the safety position with Tyke Smith, Antoin Winfield Junior.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
I mean, the list goes on and on.
Speaker 4 (17:11):
I was pulling for Shiloh because I know what he
can do. But the problem is when you when you're
controlled by emotions like that, you're not gonna It's hard
to stay level headed and to answer like I'm just again,
I don't think it was a discipline thing. I just
think that it was more of performance because he missed
(17:32):
a lot of tackles. He just looked out of place,
you know, when receivers caught the ball, when there's running
backs coming through. He just you look lost and you
can't have that on the field. I get you can
make some splash plays here and there. I get you're
a thumper. You can hit, but you can't take a
roster space from somebody who's outperforming you. You know, And
(17:52):
it goes back to what you just said, the last
name being Sanders.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
I think that a lot. Maybe he thought that.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
My last name is Sanders and I'm gonna make this
team no matter what. And I think he got humbled.
I think this is a rude awakening. I hope he
comes out better. I hope. I hope he comes out,
you know, more level headed and realize that stuff is
not going to be tolerated, especially not in a Buccaneers
locker room where this is a very family oriented locker
(18:20):
room and they don't tolerate that nonsense.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Man.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
So, you know, I understand Mike had some situations with
Marshaw and Lattimore, but that's a completely different scenario. You know,
this is a preseason game and you're fighting for a
roster spot. So to answer your question, no, I don't
think it was a discipline thing. I just think it
was more of a performance thing. If it was a
disciplined thing, he would still be on this team.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
But I think he would have been handled behind the scenes.
But again he didn't.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
It's not like Dan he put up three sacks. He
had two in a separate and nothing like that. You
got a QB hit.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
That was it? All right?
Speaker 1 (18:57):
So the last question in this segment here is code
but Bull said, quote, you can't throw punches in this league.
On quote, do you think sanders ejection was the final
straw or was he already on thin ice.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
I don't think he was on thin ice.
Speaker 4 (19:11):
I just think that again, going back to what I said,
he didn't do enough, and I think he started to
feel And if you go back and you look at that,
there was a lot of hint fighting there. It was
on both sides, and again he lost his composure. That's
what it came down to. And I think again it
boiled over the frustration, all the all the stuff that
people were saying.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
Uh, you know, these guys do listen to the media.
I don't care what anybody says. They listen.
Speaker 4 (19:35):
You know, there's there's plenty of podcasts out there the
like Dae and all that stuff, Like they listen, you know,
and there's no shortage of people saying this and all that.
And I again, I think that he was trying very
hard to fit in with this community. And I just
think that listening to the feedback from people, and you know,
it's this isn't Colorado. Daddy's not here to hold your hand, man, Unfortunately,
(19:58):
this is the big time. And you know, And I
had somebody on my show who just got caught devon
j Thomas, and I asked.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Him, what's the biggest difference between the pros?
Speaker 4 (20:07):
And here he goes, Everything's different, he goes, it's faster,
people are faster, people hit harder, and the mentality of
the game is.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
A lot different. And again, I just I hope the
best for Shiloh, I really do.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Yeah, tough break for the kid. I hope that he
lands on his feet somewhere. All right, So coming up
here after the break, we'll talk about the preseason is
over as the Bucks prepare for Game one of the
regular season. What injury concerns have us the most concerned.
We'll discuss straight ahead. All right, Welcome back into this
(20:45):
edition of the Bucks Report. Podcast part of the Bucks
Report podcast network, simulcast on the Bucks Minute Cast podcast
feed on the Fans First Sports Network. So let's dive
into the final segment of the show. We can put
the preseason in the rear view and all things considered,
we learned some things, and you know, in a lot
of ways we kind of already knew. You know, some
(21:06):
people I listened to a lot of different podcasts, listen
to James Yarco, listening to Sports Day Tampa Bay there
that they thought that Baker should have got some preseason reps.
As it turns out he didn't. And what I heard
is that he was actually ill in the last game
or the game before, so he couldn't have played anyway.
(21:27):
How concerned are you that Baker didn't get any preseason reps.
I'll just say my opinion here. First, I'm not super
concerned about it. He is a guy that has a
lot of experience in his back pocket. And if you
take a look, you know, you take a look at
the McMillan injury and the different and the other injuries
that I could think of no worse start for the
Buccaneers than to be but minus Baker Mayfield, what are
(21:50):
your thoughts.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
I'm not concerned at all.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
I mean, some of the best quarterbacks you don't really
see them playing the preseason. It's a different time in football.
How many times you see Tom Brady in the preseason? Zero?
Speaker 3 (22:03):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
You don't really see those guys, and if you did,
you saw them on one drive. I'm not really concerned
that Baker did not start any preseason games just because
of the simple fact that Tampa Bay is unfortunately plagued
by an injury bug, an injury bug that we cannot
get rid of. Hopefully that can just kind of go away,
because this team has been devastated with injuries. The only
(22:26):
thing I'm kind of concerned about is, you know, the
main injury right now is Tristan WARF's not being there.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
How that's gonna look weak? One. I understand Atlanta.
Speaker 4 (22:34):
I'm not one hundred percent show, so I don't want
to really report this, but I understand that they may
have a couple of injuries, but that's yet to be determined.
Tristan Wofs is the best and the most important player
on this offense, and.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
It's gonna be a little shaky in the beginning. I believe.
Speaker 4 (22:54):
I think they're gonna be in a dog fight with Atlanta.
But it's nothing that Baker can't handle. You know, this
guy's used to pressure. He's a dog, and he doesn't
need the preseason. I don't think, in my opinion, the
preseason is for younger players trying to make the team,
guys that need the reps. You know, obviously we've seen
Bucky out there. You know. I didn't like seeing him
(23:18):
out there. I get that some some some positions need.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
To warm up.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
I understand that, But with Jalen McMillan, I don't care
what anybody says.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
That was a scary injury.
Speaker 4 (23:27):
If you go back and look at that, and my
girlfriend's a nurse and she saw that, and she's like,
that's not good, you know, and and you saw the
results of that nine weeks maybe more, and he.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
Was supposed to be a big part of this offense,
I believe.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
So I didn't want to see Baker out there because
freak accidents do happen. Again, like I just said, with
Jalen McMillan, I didn't want to see that happen with Baker.
So no, I don't think they made the wrong decision.
I'm not concerned that he didn't play. Like I said,
Baker is a professional and like I said, I know
he's gonna be ready Week one against Atlanta.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
All right, So let's talk next about the wide receiver room.
We know that Godwin was going to miss some time
here in the beginning of the season, but the McMillan thing,
like we just talked about, was one of the things
that you know, I hate to be a revisionist or
Monday morning quarterback. It shouldn't have happened, you know. They
should have had the most bubble tertiary guys out on
the field. But it is what it is. Football is
(24:20):
a risky sport. So you take a look at a
Mecca Agbuka and listen, the Buccaneers got quite a bit
of grief for the position that they drafted in this
last draft.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
Here.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Many people had different hopes for them. But as it
turns out, Jason Light a masterclass, you know, not just
looking at the present but lifting his head up to
the future because he knows that Evans and Godwin, well,
they're kind of on the back nine of their football
career relatively speaking. We know Godwin's injury prone, Evans has
been prone to injuries, hamstrings, those kind of things here
(24:53):
as of late. So having a guy like a Mecca
Agbuka in the mix is huge, and you know, you
take a look at it. Some people said, why all
these wide receivers? You know, got Sterling Shepherd and you
know all these other guys in the mix there when
we take a look at the wide receiver room, are
you concerned going into the season meet here? Personally, I
don't have a whole lot of concern. Would the Bucks
(25:14):
be better with mc millan and Godwin, of course, but
I think that their depth is really going to shine through.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
What are your thoughts?
Speaker 4 (25:23):
I'm fifty to fifty about it, and I get a
lot of people at high on Ryan Miller, and I
am too. I think he had a fantastic preseason, but
that was against second and third string guys. I am
curious to see how this guy is going to match
up against starters. You know, it's a different it's a
different game. You know, Sterling Shepherd, I like Sterlin Shepherd
(25:43):
can't really make the big catches and we saw that
last year and he's a year older. Now, you know,
you have Mike, you have a Mecca Abuka, which I'm
very high on. I know a lot of people were
not happy with the draft pick, and and I'm not
gonna say I wasn't happy, but I was kind of
took him back because I thought we were gonna go defense.
(26:05):
I wanted Jahad Campbell, who's looked really good in the preseason. Uh,
and there was a few other players that I wanted.
So when they took a Mecca Buka, I was kind
of like took him back by it because I didn't
understand how severe Chris's injury was. And so I told myself,
I said, they took a Mecca because Chris is not
going to be ready, maybe a couple of weeks. I'm
hearing that it could be longer, like maybe mid October,
(26:27):
early November.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
But once I started seeing a Mecca Buca.
Speaker 4 (26:33):
More and more and started doing my research, I mean,
Ohio State, those guys are pro ready, saying the receivers
they put out there, they're pro ready. And you've seen
some of the catches that he's made in the preseason.
His route is route running like it's so polished, you know,
and pairing him with Mike I would feel more comfortable
if McMillan was out there as well, because I feel
(26:55):
like like a Buka is is another reflection of Chris,
and Mike has said that during training camp. You know,
he catches the football, He's like a running back. Who
else is like that? Chris Godwin catches the football, He's
like a running back, he goes. I am a little
concerned about this wide receiver room because, like I said,
(27:18):
they're thin, But I feel confident and the showing of
Ryan Miller, I feel confident. In a Mecca book, I
actually put some money up on fan duel that he's
gonna win Rookie of the Year. He's gonna get a
lot of targets man, And like I said, I think
there's a lot of people in the league underestimating him.
Especially it takes and if he can really show up
and give you six seven, eight, nine catches a game,
(27:40):
that really takes the pressure off Mike. Eventually they're gonna
stop going towards his way. And hopefully I want to
see Mike get a thousand yards early on, so we
can kind of get that done and over with. But
the wide receiver room, like I said, the only people
that really make me nervous is Sterling Shepard.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
That's it, Tes. I love Tes Johnson. I like what
he does.
Speaker 4 (28:00):
But again, I want to see you against now first
and second first stringer guys, you know, because again what
you saw in the preseason is you're going up against guys,
you know that are on an equal playing field, the
second and third string guys fighting for jobs. Now when
you enter week one, you have starters on defense, starters
on defense that want to take your head off. You know,
(28:22):
it's a different ballgame. It's a different level of play.
The intensity is way up, and I hope I can
see I hope he can repeat what he did in
the preseason into the regular season because I'll tell you what, Dan,
if he can replicate what he's done in the preseason
outside of that muff punt, I don't ever want to
see that again.
Speaker 3 (28:41):
But if he can replicate what he did, I'll tell
you what. This kid's going to be. The Swiss Army Knife.
Speaker 4 (28:46):
Him and Bucky Irvin are going to be dangerous, very
dangerous in this offense because, and it's too bad we're
not going to see this whole offense together as one
unit early on to start the season. Everybody healthy, because
I'll tell you what, I don't see many teams that
could stop that offense if they were healthy.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
All right, good transition. Last question here talking about the
running backs here talking Bucky Irving, who, let's be honest,
came on strong last season. We know that last season
it was Rashad White at least to start the season
as RB one, But Bucky Irving for me, has more
of that explosive He can find the hole and exploit
it and just go for it. And Rashad White always
(29:25):
seems like there's a bit of a stutter step there.
And also that you take a look at Tucker as
well that I think that, you know, the running back
room for the Bucks is pretty deep as well. What
are your thoughts on that is Bucky? I mean it's
a no brainer. Do you feel comfortable in the pecking
order if you will, that it's Bucky, it's Rashad and
(29:45):
so on and so forth.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
Oh. Absolutely, I've been saying this since last year.
Speaker 4 (29:50):
We have a three headed monster at running back Seawan Talker,
Rashad White, and Bucky Irvin. And what makes them a
three headed monster is that they individually have their own
unique way of running the football. You know, you have
Bucky Irvin who can gash you who you know, if
he hits that hole and he has a little bit
open space, he's gone. You have Rashad White who can
(30:13):
catch the football out of the backfield. But one of
the most important things that Rashad White does is blocking
picking up the blitz. He is fantastic at that. And
then you have Sean Tucker who is like a mini
wrecking ball when he.
Speaker 3 (30:25):
Can he can lower his shoulder.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
He's like a little not I wouldn't say a pinball,
but I call him little Mike Alstart Like, I know
there's a big shoes to fill, but I'll tell you
he runs violent, He's a he's a downhill runner. And
you know, as far as this running back room, I
think you're gonna see exactly what you saw last year.
I think Rashad White's gonna have is primed to have
a big year entering a contract year. I don't think
(30:47):
he'll be back with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers unfortunately, because
I don't see them gearing up to pay two running backs.
Maybe maybe not, I don't know, but I know there's
a couple of guys that I'm gonna need contracts on
this team some important signing, Baker being one of them,
I believe. Uh So, I think you're gonna see a
lot of Rashod White week one, just because of the
(31:08):
simple Factress Nwarfs is out and he's there to pick
up the blitz. So I wouldn't be surprised, like I said,
if you see Rashad White a little bit more than
Bucky week one, because I mean, I think Rashad is
a better pass blocker than Bucky.
Speaker 3 (31:21):
Bucky is very explosive.
Speaker 4 (31:23):
Bucky can catch the ball out of the backfield too,
But Rashad White all around is a better pass catcher
out of the backfield because we we saw it, We
saw what he did last year. So I'm very excited
about the running back room. They have the three headed monster,
and Sean Tucker is really gonna show up too. I
hope he gets some carries. And like I said, these
(31:43):
three guys can really wear it.
Speaker 3 (31:45):
Down a defense. And a lot of people are saying,
you know they're gonna be air and out, airing out.
I don't. I don't think so. I think they're gonna
run the football. I think they're gonna be a running
football team. First. I think they're gonna shove that football
down people's throats.
Speaker 4 (31:55):
I really do, I think, because what better way to
really take a top off a defense is to wear
them out with the running game, be successful at running,
running the football, you know, and then having that defense
play a little bit closer to the line, loading up
the box, and you can take the top off with
Mike or a Mecca.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
A Mecca will make you pay.
Speaker 4 (32:12):
I'm telling you right now, if you get a Mecca
Buka one on one, a Mecca Buka will make a
bad cornerback look like a really bad cornerback.
Speaker 3 (32:21):
And I'll put my I'll put my last dollar on it.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
All right, Louis Lettel, thank you so much for your
insight tonight from the Frozen Pirate Podcast. Why didn't you
tell everyone where we can find your work so.
Speaker 4 (32:33):
You guys can find me on YouTube. The Frozen Pirate
podcast we put out right now. The schedule is a
little messed up just because it's preseason now the regular
season is.
Speaker 3 (32:41):
Starting to get up.
Speaker 4 (32:42):
So we have a couple of shows that we're going
to be doing, and then we do around the NFL.
Around the NFL is going to be every Wednesday. Uh,
myself and a few people. We just kind of go
in there and we talk about all the top news
so we can keep Buccaneer fans informed on other teams,
other teams in the division. Some segments that we're gonna
be doing on around the NFL. It's called State of
(33:03):
the South where we have a Carolina Panthers fan, Atlanta
Falcons fan, and a New Orleans Saints fan. We all
know how we feel about those people, but we all
we're gonna have a little roundtable. And then then on
the second hour, we were joined by my co host
Jamie and Leo Haggerty of amped up Sports. What we
do is we have a segment called the Match Vault,
(33:26):
and what we do is we take two teams from
different eras. Like last week, if you guys want go
back to the going to the YouTube and go check
out the episode. We take two teams from different eras,
Like we did we compared the nineteen eighty five Miami
Dolphins and how they would match up in an AFC
Championship game atmosphere against the two thousand and seven Patriots,
(33:47):
and we kind of just break down position by position
and we kind of have like a little roundtable and
we talk about that and we get ready to do
that again this Wednesday. But yeah, the Frozen Pire Podcast
around the NFL is every Wednesday at eight o'clock and
then we're gonna be doing pregames and post games as well.
Like I said, you guys can find me on Instagram
(34:08):
the Frozen Firate Podcast. I will have the schedule up
on the bio and you can follow me on Twitter,
slash x whatever it's going by Louis FPP. I'm on TikTok,
but I'm not I don't really do too much of TikTok.
And then I'm on the Facebook. Louislteo on there as well,
and yeah, and then I appreciate you having me on,
looking forward to coming on some more.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
Yeah, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
Before I let you go here, I just want to
make sure I got this all out there. This was
from Jerby Fowler the Bucks planned release quarterback Kyle Trasper
source he will revert to IR with a shoulder issue,
then work out a settlement or release soon and look
for a new team just in case I wasn't really
clear off the top there, But thank you so much
for joining me on this edition of the Bucks Report
(34:50):
podcast and I'll talk to you again next time.
Speaker 3 (34:53):
Thank you,
On today's show, changes in the quarterback room for the Bucks.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Next don this edition of the Box Report, Let's get it.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Well.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Hello, Endo, Welcome into this edition of the Box Report podcast,
part of the Box Report podcast Network. I'm so glad
you decided to join me today. As always, this podcast
is free and available on all the major platforms. My
name is Holmie. You can find me on Twitter. It's
at dan caps two and eight. You can find the
show online It's Bucksreport dot com. And the best way
(01:08):
that you can help grow this show is to subscribe
or follow the Bucks Report podcast on Apple, Spotify, or
wherever you find your podcast. Give it a five star rating,
leave some comments and tell your friends. I sure would
appreciate it. So in this edition of the Bucks Report podcast,
Louis from the Frozen Pirate podcast joins me. Louis, Welcome
(01:31):
to the show.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
What's going on? Man? Happy to be here.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
As always, I've done a little bit with the Bucks
Report last season.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Looking forward to this season. A lot to talk about.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
Obviously a pretty big day for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
We're going to get into that. A lot of good
things and a lot of questionable things on the agenda.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
To with the cut the cut list there.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Yeah, So I was writing the show today and I
kind of was writing it throughout the day, and I
know that it was not a great idea just considering
the time of the season it is that there's cuts
being made. I'm like, well, this is pretty good. I'm
going to go ahead and send this in my notes.
And then tonight a flurry of action that Kyle Trask
is waived and the future of Kyle Trask a bit
(02:16):
up in the air, something that shouldn't be too surprising,
but we are where we're at right now, so let's
dive into that here. First, the Buccaneers appeared committed to
Kyle Trask this off season when they signed him to
a one year, two point seven eight million dollar deal,
but his struggles in camp in preseason, paired with Teddy
bridgewaters emergence, shifted the quarterback room. After Trass suffered a
(02:39):
shoulder injury, the Bucks are releasing him with an injury
settlement that leaves Baker Mayfield as the starter. Of course,
Bridgewater as the backup, and Connor Beaslack likely stashed out
on the practice squad. So the question for you, question
number one, what was your first reaction when you saw
the news that Aisle Trask was being released after the
(03:02):
Bucks just re signed him this off season.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
I really wasn't too surprised, Dan, just because of the
simple fact this is a guy who was drafted during
the Brady era. We all thought, including myself, figured this
was the quarterback of the future, but unfortunately it didn't
pan out that way. And obviously the organized organization and
the Buccaneer coaches, et cetera. They they've got a better
(03:27):
look at Kyle Trask, and we really haven't seen much
of Kyle Trask. There was some things in the preseason.
He came out very how can I say he came
out strong the first preseason game right and after that
it was just very lackluster.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
We were talking about this just before we.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
Went on, and there's a lot of questionable things that
I've seen with Kyle, his throwing motion, questionable decisions that
he makes, you know. So to answer your question, was
I surprised, No, I just the writing was on the
wall when they brought in Teddy Bridgewater and I just
knew from there that, hey, I think it's probably time
(04:07):
they're going to move on from Kyle I thought they
were going to keep him on the roster just because
maybe they could use him for trade, because there's a
lot of trading going on right now. Well, they was
because there are teams out there that are gonna get
desperate for a quarterback. I wouldn't be surprised if the
lands somewhere very quickly, though.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Yeah, the tough thing for Trask. And if we can
rewind time a little bit, we remember when Baker Mayfield
first came here and there was this supposed quarterback battle,
which I never really bought into. I think it was
just tactics to make both quarterbacks get the best out
of both of them. I don't think that Baker Mayfield
was ever too concerned about it. But that's where we're at,
(04:48):
and this, you know, in camp here, we saw that
Baker Mayfield suffered a hand contusion and I think that
is what shot a shot across the bow of the
Buccaneers Jason Ly like, uh oh, we might be going
into the start of the season with Kyle Trask, a
relatively unproven commodity in the NHL, and I think that
(05:10):
that was a scary thought for them. So, you know,
if you look back historically, there is a history with
Teddy Bridgewater and the Buccaneers that you know, he was
supposed to have joined this team at different points along
his career, but it seemed like the right fit right
now in a very small sample size. What have you
noticed in what do you like about Teddy Bridgewater's game?
Speaker 4 (05:32):
He's very confident in the pocket, he can he throws
a pretty ball outside. I know a lot of people
are upset with him because of the capacity threw to McMillan. Listen,
that can happen on any given play.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
It happens. Things like that happen.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
But I so if if they came down to you know,
Baker going down and knock on Wood, I hope that
doesn't happen. I would feel a lot more uncomfortable with
Teddy Bridgewater just because he has more experience and more
playing time.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Kyle has very.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
Limited playing time, especially with you know, starters and so forth.
Teddy has more, like I said, more experience. His career
was kind of he had a lot of stepbacks with
injuries and stuff.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
But I mean, if you.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
Ask me who you would want under center, Trask or
Teddy Bridgewater, I'm gonna go with Teddy Bridgewater just because
I feel like he can really lead the team UH
to some victories.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Kyle, I don't have a lot of faith in him.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
And you know, to rewind, like what you were just
talking about, you know what I thought when when we're
going to go back to when Dave Canalis first came in,
I thought him and Canalis were gonna be a good match,
just because you know, you would think they wasted a
second round pick on this guy, uh local guy. Not
only that he sat behind Brady full Was it two years?
(06:50):
I believe it was two years he sat behind Tom
uh and you would think that they're bringing in, you know,
Dave Canalis, and you saw what Dave Canalis did with
Gino Smith. He did fantastic with him, and now you
see what he's doing with uh Bryce Young there in Carolina.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
I thought that was going to be the match and
I and if it was.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
If there was ever a time for Kyle to take
the starting job, it was then. And as soon as
Baker came in, you know, obviously, like you just said,
you know, there was really no quarterback competition. Once they
brought Baker in, I kind of figured, I'm like, I
don't think they're gonna go with Kyle, because if they
believed in Kyle, they wouldn't have brought in a guy
like Baker Mayfield because we all knew Baker could still go.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
It's just I believe with this system and this quarter
I mean, and these receivers and running backs in the
offensive line, at the time, it was I'm not saying Baker.
I mean, I'm not saying it's like Baker has nothing
to do with the success of the team. But I
mean you could put pretty much I wouldn't say any quarterback,
but a lot of these quarterbacks you can put back there.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
It's plug and play.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
The offense, the guys, the weapons that are on this team,
it's a quarterback stream. So but with Kyle and Baker,
you know, like I said, when Baker came in here,
I knew he was going to be the guy, and
I just knew the writing was on the wall. And
if there was a time, like I just said, if
there was a time, he would have took the start
and job. But he didn't, and we haven't seen anything
from Kyle, So I think it's just time to I
(08:08):
think they did the right decision part ways, because at
this point you'd just taken up a roster spot.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
In my opinion, it was.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
One of those tough things that it was always supposed
to be his time, but never was his time. And
that's kind of the hard part about being a backup
quarterback is unless there's an injury to your starter or
the starter just turns into a horrible quarterback, some seasons
will go by and you get no opportunity. I think
that most recently, Kyle Trask had mop up duty against
(08:36):
Atlanta last season, and so not a lot of experience,
and there's a lot of pressure on you in that
brief snippet. You better impress or people are going to
call you garbage. I cover a hockey team as well,
and they have backup goalies and even they get more
played than backup quarterbacks get. So to a certain extent,
I think it's a bit unfair for backup quarterbacks that
(08:58):
they really need to impress. Otherwise, like I say, people
are willing to just say quite horrible things about you.
So now you take a look at the quarterback room,
it is going to be Baker, it's going to be
Teddy and then Basilac. I guess is how how the
trajectory of all this is going to unfold here, and
it's it's one of the things follow the bouncing ball,
(09:20):
because I've heard not too long ago before this happened,
like a week or so ago, that it was going
to be Trask as the backup and then they were
going to try to hide Teddy Bridgewater in on the
practice squad or something. As it turns out, it was
kind of an evolution. And I think that what we
saw against in the most recent game here made it
quite apparent that he wasn't up for the task at hand.
(09:42):
But when you take a look at it, was it
the right decision to make? Is that the move you
would have made? Are you just going with Teddy Bridgewater
because he has more experience on his NFL odometer, because
you know, the feeling was I think that, you know,
for Kyle Trask, there's there's quite a few fans in Tampa.
You know, you hear on social media that actually like him,
(10:05):
a nice guy, and you know, but you don't you
don't have guys on your team because they're nice guys.
You want guys that are gonna sling the football in
the time calls for it? Was that the right move
in your estimation going with Bridgewater over Trask.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:18):
I mean, if you look at when Bridgewater was in there,
especially against uh it was it Pittsburgh. That beautiful ball
he threw to Bucky, another one to Mecca Abuka. You know,
we really haven't seen that out of Kyle. Kyle made
some decent throats, but again, his vision on the field
is not day like. Take, for instance, the last game
against the Bills. It was a third and eight and
(10:40):
TESJ Johnson was running and he could have hit Tez.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
If you don't get the first down, you don't get
the first down.
Speaker 4 (10:46):
But the way Tesz is, he's a shifty receiver, he's quick,
he's small, he's fast. You gotta let a guy like
that make a play. It's the preseason. You got to
try to keep that drive alive.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Instead. I don't know what he did with the ball.
Speaker 4 (10:58):
He just kind of threw it and it was just
income just his field awareness, it's just not there, Like
he can't I don't want to say he can't hit
the open guy. But I from what I've seen throughout
this preseason, I would have made the same move that
the Buccaneers did. I would have kept Teddy Bridges water because,
like I said, he made beta throws and he looked
(11:20):
more confident versus where Kyle it was almost like, I
wouldn't say robotic, it was almost like he's stuck in
practice mode, if that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Yeah, And it's a tough thing. Like I say, I
was kind of always you know, there was always two camps,
and I was kind of hoping that Trask will get it.
But like I say, at the end of the day,
I want the most qualified players out on the field.
All right, So coming up here after the break, we'll
talk about the Bucks Wave Shiloh Sanders. Is anyone surprised,
not me? We'll discuss straight ahead.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
All right.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Welcome back into this edition of the Bucks Report, part
of the Bucks Report podcast simulcast on the Bucks minute
Cast podcast feed. In this episode, I have Louis Lttel
of the Frozen Pirate podcast. Louis, welcome back to the show.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
Here.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Let's dive into segment two. Here, this is what I
was gonna lead with. And you know, the interesting thing
is Shilo Sanders. You know, it's a lot about who
his dad is, right, and name recognition and all of
those things. But talking about him wave the Bucks made
headlines this weekend after waving rookie safety Shilo Sanders, of course,
one of Hall of Famer Dion Sanders. Shiloh was competing
(12:32):
for the final safety spot, but an ejection in the
preseason finale for throwing a punch against Bill's tight end
Zach Davidson, plus earlier penalties put this roster chance in jeopardy.
Todd Bowles called the move quote unexcusable, unquote and the
Bucks are moving on. So the question what was your
first reaction when you heard the Bucks wave Shilo Sanders
(12:56):
right after the ejection?
Speaker 4 (12:59):
A little disappoint and it just because I expected more
of this kid.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
I do think he has a lot of talent.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
I think he can contribute, but unfortunately, the first thing
you gotta do, and this is with anything in life,
you have to check your emotions at the door.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
You have to handle yourself like a professional.
Speaker 4 (13:12):
And he just kind of he looked very frustrated because
I think the pressure got to him, because you know,
he's a kid who's in the shadow of his father.
You know, unfortunately, with Dion primetime and if you grew
up in the late eighties early nineties, those cowboy teams
at Falcon teams and you know all the other teams
(13:32):
he played on it was primetime.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
You know, those are big, big steps to follow, big
shoes to fill too.
Speaker 4 (13:38):
So when he got when I seen all this transpire,
I'm just like he lost it.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Not only did he cost himself.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
A position a practice squad, because I don't think they
would have gave up on him right away, because he's
one of those guys that he needs more time to
You got to polish him a little bit, you know
what I'm saying, He needs more time. What he did
was just frustration. Like I said, the pressure got to him.
I know he was probably listening to all the noise,
he heard, all the criticism about missing tackles, which he did.
(14:10):
He had one highlight play and that was you know,
against the Titans. You know, but you're only good as
your last play, in my opinion, especially in the preseason,
if you're trying to make this team. He didn't get
the he didn't sack the quarterback. He got a good
hit on him, clean hit, But I mean outside of that,
he didn't do much. And I think he started to
He listened to all that pressure, and I think finally
(14:32):
it boiled over and I think it got the better
of him early on in that game, and he threw
a punch and that was the end of that. And honestly,
I know Drew Rosenhaus is his agent, and I know
Rosenhaus has a good relationship with Jason Light and Todd Bowles.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
I think it was just kind of maybe a favor.
Speaker 4 (14:50):
Who knows. But I mean, I know a lot of
people are upset with it. But and I've been hearing
things about, you know, oh, you know, he bowls kind
of handle that wrong at the press conference. I don't
think he handled that wrong by any means. I just
he told the truth. Like you can't do that stuff,
especially if you're trying to make the fifty three man roster.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
You don't throw punches.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
You know, that's not something you know, like like you know,
it's like starting a new job. You know, just because
somebody aggravates you, you don't go and punch him in
the face. You know, you don't do that, especially if
you're trying to stay somewhere long term. Do I think
he's gonna end up on somebody's team. I don't think
he makes a fifty three man roster. I do think
he may end up on somebody's practice squad or I
(15:31):
think I seen some news where he somebody owns the
rights to him or something, So I think a Canadian
football league. I'm not one hundred percent short. Have to
go back and check that out. But you can't do
stuff like that, And that's to all the young kids
watching too.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
If you play.
Speaker 4 (15:44):
Football, you can't let your emotions get the better of
you like that. If you know, you just got to
keep those things in check, and you have to remain humble,
and you have to be a professional.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
You know, it's not over after you get cut. You
know that.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
He's still young, but unfortunate. I think the pressure just
dan it got to him.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
You know.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
The thing of it is is that his last name
opened doors for him. You know, his talented as well,
but it's up to him to not just ride on
his father's coat tails and to be that player. You know,
if he wants to be thought of in the same
breath as his father, then he's going to have to
bring it the same way his father brought it. So
it was a bit of a difficult thing I got
to imagine for him, and also his father, which you know,
(16:25):
I'm sure was his biggest fan. At the end of
the day, I know the answer for me, of course.
Do you think this was more of a discipline thing
or do you think it was a performance or was
it a mixture of both In your estimation.
Speaker 4 (16:38):
I think it was more of performance. I don't think
it was discipline. I think it was more of a performance.
He didn't do enough to make this team. You know,
and I've said on my show numerous of times, I said.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
This team needs football players.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
Like they have a lot of depth, they have a
good infusion of youth, and even on the nine man roster,
there's so much talent. That's why these positions are hard
to come by with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, especially at
the safety position with Tyke Smith, Antoin Winfield Junior.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
I mean, the list goes on and on.
Speaker 4 (17:11):
I was pulling for Shiloh because I know what he
can do. But the problem is when you when you're
controlled by emotions like that, you're not gonna It's hard
to stay level headed and to answer like I'm just again,
I don't think it was a discipline thing. I just
think that it was more of performance because he missed
(17:32):
a lot of tackles. He just looked out of place,
you know, when receivers caught the ball, when there's running
backs coming through. He just you look lost and you
can't have that on the field. I get you can
make some splash plays here and there. I get you're
a thumper. You can hit, but you can't take a
roster space from somebody who's outperforming you. You know, And
(17:52):
it goes back to what you just said, the last
name being Sanders.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
I think that a lot. Maybe he thought that.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
My last name is Sanders and I'm gonna make this
team no matter what. And I think he got humbled.
I think this is a rude awakening. I hope he
comes out better. I hope. I hope he comes out,
you know, more level headed and realize that stuff is
not going to be tolerated, especially not in a Buccaneers
locker room where this is a very family oriented locker
(18:20):
room and they don't tolerate that nonsense.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Man.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
So, you know, I understand Mike had some situations with
Marshaw and Lattimore, but that's a completely different scenario. You know,
this is a preseason game and you're fighting for a
roster spot. So to answer your question, no, I don't
think it was a discipline thing. I just think it
was more of a performance thing. If it was a
disciplined thing, he would still be on this team.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
But I think he would have been handled behind the scenes.
But again he didn't.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
It's not like Dan he put up three sacks. He
had two in a separate and nothing like that. You
got a QB hit.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
That was it? All right?
Speaker 1 (18:57):
So the last question in this segment here is code
but Bull said, quote, you can't throw punches in this league.
On quote, do you think sanders ejection was the final
straw or was he already on thin ice.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
I don't think he was on thin ice.
Speaker 4 (19:11):
I just think that again, going back to what I said,
he didn't do enough, and I think he started to
feel And if you go back and you look at that,
there was a lot of hint fighting there. It was
on both sides, and again he lost his composure. That's
what it came down to. And I think again it
boiled over the frustration, all the all the stuff that
people were saying.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
Uh, you know, these guys do listen to the media.
I don't care what anybody says. They listen.
Speaker 4 (19:35):
You know, there's there's plenty of podcasts out there the
like Dae and all that stuff, Like they listen, you know,
and there's no shortage of people saying this and all that.
And I again, I think that he was trying very
hard to fit in with this community. And I just
think that listening to the feedback from people, and you know,
it's this isn't Colorado. Daddy's not here to hold your hand, man, Unfortunately,
(19:58):
this is the big time. And you know, And I
had somebody on my show who just got caught devon
j Thomas, and I asked.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Him, what's the biggest difference between the pros?
Speaker 4 (20:07):
And here he goes, Everything's different, he goes, it's faster,
people are faster, people hit harder, and the mentality of
the game is.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
A lot different. And again, I just I hope the
best for Shiloh, I really do.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Yeah, tough break for the kid. I hope that he
lands on his feet somewhere. All right, So coming up
here after the break, we'll talk about the preseason is
over as the Bucks prepare for Game one of the
regular season. What injury concerns have us the most concerned.
We'll discuss straight ahead. All right, Welcome back into this
(20:45):
edition of the Bucks Report. Podcast part of the Bucks
Report podcast network, simulcast on the Bucks Minute Cast podcast
feed on the Fans First Sports Network. So let's dive
into the final segment of the show. We can put
the preseason in the rear view and all things considered,
we learned some things, and you know, in a lot
of ways we kind of already knew. You know, some
(21:06):
people I listened to a lot of different podcasts, listen
to James Yarco, listening to Sports Day Tampa Bay there
that they thought that Baker should have got some preseason reps.
As it turns out he didn't. And what I heard
is that he was actually ill in the last game
or the game before, so he couldn't have played anyway.
(21:27):
How concerned are you that Baker didn't get any preseason reps.
I'll just say my opinion here. First, I'm not super
concerned about it. He is a guy that has a
lot of experience in his back pocket. And if you
take a look, you know, you take a look at
the McMillan injury and the different and the other injuries
that I could think of no worse start for the
Buccaneers than to be but minus Baker Mayfield, what are
(21:50):
your thoughts.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
I'm not concerned at all.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
I mean, some of the best quarterbacks you don't really
see them playing the preseason. It's a different time in football.
How many times you see Tom Brady in the preseason? Zero?
Speaker 3 (22:03):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
You don't really see those guys, and if you did,
you saw them on one drive. I'm not really concerned
that Baker did not start any preseason games just because
of the simple fact that Tampa Bay is unfortunately plagued
by an injury bug, an injury bug that we cannot
get rid of. Hopefully that can just kind of go away,
because this team has been devastated with injuries. The only
(22:26):
thing I'm kind of concerned about is, you know, the
main injury right now is Tristan WARF's not being there.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
How that's gonna look weak? One. I understand Atlanta.
Speaker 4 (22:34):
I'm not one hundred percent show, so I don't want
to really report this, but I understand that they may
have a couple of injuries, but that's yet to be determined.
Tristan Wofs is the best and the most important player
on this offense, and.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
It's gonna be a little shaky in the beginning. I believe.
Speaker 4 (22:54):
I think they're gonna be in a dog fight with Atlanta.
But it's nothing that Baker can't handle. You know, this
guy's used to pressure. He's a dog, and he doesn't
need the preseason. I don't think, in my opinion, the
preseason is for younger players trying to make the team,
guys that need the reps. You know, obviously we've seen
Bucky out there. You know. I didn't like seeing him
(23:18):
out there. I get that some some some positions need.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
To warm up.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
I understand that, But with Jalen McMillan, I don't care
what anybody says.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
That was a scary injury.
Speaker 4 (23:27):
If you go back and look at that, and my
girlfriend's a nurse and she saw that, and she's like,
that's not good, you know, and and you saw the
results of that nine weeks maybe more, and he.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
Was supposed to be a big part of this offense,
I believe.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
So I didn't want to see Baker out there because
freak accidents do happen. Again, like I just said, with
Jalen McMillan, I didn't want to see that happen with Baker.
So no, I don't think they made the wrong decision.
I'm not concerned that he didn't play. Like I said,
Baker is a professional and like I said, I know
he's gonna be ready Week one against Atlanta.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
All right, So let's talk next about the wide receiver room.
We know that Godwin was going to miss some time
here in the beginning of the season, but the McMillan thing,
like we just talked about, was one of the things
that you know, I hate to be a revisionist or
Monday morning quarterback. It shouldn't have happened, you know. They
should have had the most bubble tertiary guys out on
the field. But it is what it is. Football is
(24:20):
a risky sport. So you take a look at a
Mecca Agbuka and listen, the Buccaneers got quite a bit
of grief for the position that they drafted in this
last draft.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
Here.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Many people had different hopes for them. But as it
turns out, Jason Light a masterclass, you know, not just
looking at the present but lifting his head up to
the future because he knows that Evans and Godwin, well,
they're kind of on the back nine of their football
career relatively speaking. We know Godwin's injury prone, Evans has
been prone to injuries, hamstrings, those kind of things here
(24:53):
as of late. So having a guy like a Mecca
Agbuka in the mix is huge, and you know, you
take a look at it. Some people said, why all
these wide receivers? You know, got Sterling Shepherd and you
know all these other guys in the mix there when
we take a look at the wide receiver room, are
you concerned going into the season meet here? Personally, I
don't have a whole lot of concern. Would the Bucks
(25:14):
be better with mc millan and Godwin, of course, but
I think that their depth is really going to shine through.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
What are your thoughts?
Speaker 4 (25:23):
I'm fifty to fifty about it, and I get a
lot of people at high on Ryan Miller, and I
am too. I think he had a fantastic preseason, but
that was against second and third string guys. I am
curious to see how this guy is going to match
up against starters. You know, it's a different it's a
different game. You know, Sterling Shepherd, I like Sterlin Shepherd
(25:43):
can't really make the big catches and we saw that
last year and he's a year older. Now, you know,
you have Mike, you have a Mecca Abuka, which I'm
very high on. I know a lot of people were
not happy with the draft pick, and and I'm not
gonna say I wasn't happy, but I was kind of
took him back because I thought we were gonna go defense.
(26:05):
I wanted Jahad Campbell, who's looked really good in the preseason. Uh,
and there was a few other players that I wanted.
So when they took a Mecca Buka, I was kind
of like took him back by it because I didn't
understand how severe Chris's injury was. And so I told myself,
I said, they took a Mecca because Chris is not
going to be ready, maybe a couple of weeks. I'm
hearing that it could be longer, like maybe mid October,
(26:27):
early November.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
But once I started seeing a Mecca Buca.
Speaker 4 (26:33):
More and more and started doing my research, I mean,
Ohio State, those guys are pro ready, saying the receivers
they put out there, they're pro ready. And you've seen
some of the catches that he's made in the preseason.
His route is route running like it's so polished, you know,
and pairing him with Mike I would feel more comfortable
if McMillan was out there as well, because I feel
(26:55):
like like a Buka is is another reflection of Chris,
and Mike has said that during training camp. You know,
he catches the football, He's like a running back. Who
else is like that? Chris Godwin catches the football, He's
like a running back, he goes. I am a little
concerned about this wide receiver room because, like I said,
(27:18):
they're thin, But I feel confident and the showing of
Ryan Miller, I feel confident. In a Mecca book, I
actually put some money up on fan duel that he's
gonna win Rookie of the Year. He's gonna get a
lot of targets man, And like I said, I think
there's a lot of people in the league underestimating him.
Especially it takes and if he can really show up
and give you six seven, eight, nine catches a game,
(27:40):
that really takes the pressure off Mike. Eventually they're gonna
stop going towards his way. And hopefully I want to
see Mike get a thousand yards early on, so we
can kind of get that done and over with. But
the wide receiver room, like I said, the only people
that really make me nervous is Sterling Shepard.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
That's it, Tes. I love Tes Johnson. I like what
he does.
Speaker 4 (28:00):
But again, I want to see you against now first
and second first stringer guys, you know, because again what
you saw in the preseason is you're going up against guys,
you know that are on an equal playing field, the
second and third string guys fighting for jobs. Now when
you enter week one, you have starters on defense, starters
on defense that want to take your head off. You know,
(28:22):
it's a different ballgame. It's a different level of play.
The intensity is way up, and I hope I can
see I hope he can repeat what he did in
the preseason into the regular season because I'll tell you what, Dan,
if he can replicate what he's done in the preseason
outside of that muff punt, I don't ever want to
see that again.
Speaker 3 (28:41):
But if he can replicate what he did, I'll tell
you what. This kid's going to be. The Swiss Army Knife.
Speaker 4 (28:46):
Him and Bucky Irvin are going to be dangerous, very
dangerous in this offense because, and it's too bad we're
not going to see this whole offense together as one
unit early on to start the season. Everybody healthy, because
I'll tell you what, I don't see many teams that
could stop that offense if they were healthy.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
All right, good transition. Last question here talking about the
running backs here talking Bucky Irving, who, let's be honest,
came on strong last season. We know that last season
it was Rashad White at least to start the season
as RB one, But Bucky Irving for me, has more
of that explosive He can find the hole and exploit
it and just go for it. And Rashad White always
(29:25):
seems like there's a bit of a stutter step there.
And also that you take a look at Tucker as
well that I think that, you know, the running back
room for the Bucks is pretty deep as well. What
are your thoughts on that is Bucky? I mean it's
a no brainer. Do you feel comfortable in the pecking
order if you will, that it's Bucky, it's Rashad and
(29:45):
so on and so forth.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
Oh. Absolutely, I've been saying this since last year.
Speaker 4 (29:50):
We have a three headed monster at running back Seawan Talker,
Rashad White, and Bucky Irvin. And what makes them a
three headed monster is that they individually have their own
unique way of running the football. You know, you have
Bucky Irvin who can gash you who you know, if
he hits that hole and he has a little bit
open space, he's gone. You have Rashad White who can
(30:13):
catch the football out of the backfield. But one of
the most important things that Rashad White does is blocking
picking up the blitz. He is fantastic at that. And
then you have Sean Tucker who is like a mini
wrecking ball when he.
Speaker 3 (30:25):
Can he can lower his shoulder.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
He's like a little not I wouldn't say a pinball,
but I call him little Mike Alstart Like, I know
there's a big shoes to fill, but I'll tell you
he runs violent, He's a he's a downhill runner. And
you know, as far as this running back room, I
think you're gonna see exactly what you saw last year.
I think Rashad White's gonna have is primed to have
a big year entering a contract year. I don't think
(30:47):
he'll be back with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers unfortunately, because
I don't see them gearing up to pay two running backs.
Maybe maybe not, I don't know, but I know there's
a couple of guys that I'm gonna need contracts on
this team some important signing, Baker being one of them,
I believe. Uh So, I think you're gonna see a
lot of Rashod White week one, just because of the
(31:08):
simple Factress Nwarfs is out and he's there to pick
up the blitz. So I wouldn't be surprised, like I said,
if you see Rashad White a little bit more than
Bucky week one, because I mean, I think Rashad is
a better pass blocker than Bucky.
Speaker 3 (31:21):
Bucky is very explosive.
Speaker 4 (31:23):
Bucky can catch the ball out of the backfield too,
But Rashad White all around is a better pass catcher
out of the backfield because we we saw it, We
saw what he did last year. So I'm very excited
about the running back room. They have the three headed monster,
and Sean Tucker is really gonna show up too. I
hope he gets some carries. And like I said, these
(31:43):
three guys can really wear it.
Speaker 3 (31:45):
Down a defense. And a lot of people are saying,
you know they're gonna be air and out, airing out.
I don't. I don't think so. I think they're gonna
run the football. I think they're gonna be a running
football team. First. I think they're gonna shove that football
down people's throats.
Speaker 4 (31:55):
I really do, I think, because what better way to
really take a top off a defense is to wear
them out with the running game, be successful at running,
running the football, you know, and then having that defense
play a little bit closer to the line, loading up
the box, and you can take the top off with
Mike or a Mecca.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
A Mecca will make you pay.
Speaker 4 (32:12):
I'm telling you right now, if you get a Mecca
Buka one on one, a Mecca Buka will make a
bad cornerback look like a really bad cornerback.
Speaker 3 (32:21):
And I'll put my I'll put my last dollar on it.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
All right, Louis Lettel, thank you so much for your
insight tonight from the Frozen Pirate Podcast. Why didn't you
tell everyone where we can find your work so.
Speaker 4 (32:33):
You guys can find me on YouTube. The Frozen Pirate
podcast we put out right now. The schedule is a
little messed up just because it's preseason now the regular
season is.
Speaker 3 (32:41):
Starting to get up.
Speaker 4 (32:42):
So we have a couple of shows that we're going
to be doing, and then we do around the NFL.
Around the NFL is going to be every Wednesday. Uh,
myself and a few people. We just kind of go
in there and we talk about all the top news
so we can keep Buccaneer fans informed on other teams,
other teams in the division. Some segments that we're gonna
be doing on around the NFL. It's called State of
(33:03):
the South where we have a Carolina Panthers fan, Atlanta
Falcons fan, and a New Orleans Saints fan. We all
know how we feel about those people, but we all
we're gonna have a little roundtable. And then then on
the second hour, we were joined by my co host
Jamie and Leo Haggerty of amped up Sports. What we
do is we have a segment called the Match Vault,
(33:26):
and what we do is we take two teams from
different eras. Like last week, if you guys want go
back to the going to the YouTube and go check
out the episode. We take two teams from different eras,
Like we did we compared the nineteen eighty five Miami
Dolphins and how they would match up in an AFC
Championship game atmosphere against the two thousand and seven Patriots,
(33:47):
and we kind of just break down position by position
and we kind of have like a little roundtable and
we talk about that and we get ready to do
that again this Wednesday. But yeah, the Frozen Pire Podcast
around the NFL is every Wednesday at eight o'clock and
then we're gonna be doing pregames and post games as well.
Like I said, you guys can find me on Instagram
(34:08):
the Frozen Firate Podcast. I will have the schedule up
on the bio and you can follow me on Twitter,
slash x whatever it's going by Louis FPP. I'm on TikTok,
but I'm not I don't really do too much of TikTok.
And then I'm on the Facebook. Louislteo on there as well,
and yeah, and then I appreciate you having me on,
looking forward to coming on some more.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
Yeah, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
Before I let you go here, I just want to
make sure I got this all out there. This was
from Jerby Fowler the Bucks planned release quarterback Kyle Trasper
source he will revert to IR with a shoulder issue,
then work out a settlement or release soon and look
for a new team just in case I wasn't really
clear off the top there, But thank you so much
for joining me on this edition of the Bucks Report
(34:50):
podcast and I'll talk to you again next time.
Speaker 3 (34:53):
Thank you,
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.