Benjamin Morrison
Buccaneers' second-round pick Benjamin Morrison has made strides in his rehab and is taking the process day-by-day. Six games into his 2024 campaign at Notre Dame, he suffered a hip injury that required surgery. Morrison had surgery on his other hip during high school, an inevitable outcome due to a bilateral condition that was detected in his childhood. The second surgery caused him to fall to the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft and into the Bucs' grasp. Morrison is expected to be ready to go for training camp and the technically-sound athlete will boost competition. Driven by faith, Morrison commands the catch point and seems to be ahead of schedule in his return to full-speed work. He was not expected to take part in the team's rookie minicamp but was able to participate in the majority of drills before working on the side during the ramped-up team period.
"It was very good to see him move around," said Head Coach Todd Bowles of Morrison. "I think he's okay. I just think he has to get in shape now, so we have to monitor where he is as far as what kind of program he needs but I think he'll be fine. We're really looking forward to having him at training camp but if he can come out and do some things in OTAs, that would be a big bonus…We'll see how the health is, depending on the scheme. We're looking to play a little more man [coverage] and zone from man upfront from a press standpoint. It'll be mixed up. You never want to do too much of one thing, because people are going to get a bead on that. You're going to have to play some off and have to play some zone."
David Walker
Throughout his collegiate tenure, David Walker wreaked havoc with burst off the line and violence in his hands. During the team period and individual drills in minicamp, Walker flashed his skills, quickly bypassing blockers to get into the backfield. Walker had historic production for Central Arkansas (2022-24) and Southern Arkansas (2021), collecting 82.5 tackles for loss and 39 sacks over four total seasons. The three-time consensus All-American made his presence felt with quickness off the line and core strength.
"We saw the quickness, obviously, earlier today, and he was probably the best t-shirt and helmet player we had out there today from that standpoint but just understanding the scheme," noted Todd Bowles on his impression of Walker. "The terminology is different, there's a lot of things we're asking him to do differently so to see him move around and get comfortable with that, it will be an important thing for him."
Tez Johnson
Much like David Walker, rookie Tez Johnson lit up the practice field on Friday and Saturday with shifty footwork and straight-line speed that burned past defenders. He is electric with the ball in his hands and Johnson showcased his ability to quickly accelerate to top-gear and stop-and-start on command. With elite redirection skills and juice, Johnson has made an impact between the hashmarks. Johnson holds Oregon's No. 1 and No. 2 spots for most single-season catches. For the Buccaneers, Johnson will look to harness his speed to elevate the Bucs aerial attack.
"I mean, he's quick," described Bowles. "He's a quick player. We know he's quick, we know he's fast, we know he can run routes and we know he's a receiver. When you're that light, you have to be very quick and he's very quick. I'll be interested to see, going forward, how he learns more."
Strength Challenge
Buccaneers' offensive linemen Tristan Wirfs and Cody Mauch participated in a strength challenge with comedian Bert Kreischer. All three challenged themselves to see how long they could hold a stein filled with water in the air. Kreischer won, holding it up for 3:08, while Wirfs clocked 2:20 and Mauch hit 3:02. The event took place at Raymond James Stadium, as Kreischer and podcast co-host Tom Segura, hosted the "2 Bears 5K."
