HEAD COACH TODD BOWLES

(On DL Greg Gaines missing all three minicamp practices)

"He's here. He's nicked up right now. We'll get him ready for training camp."

(On if the final practice of minicamp was light in order to go easy on the players)

"I don't know if it was 'take it easy on the way out.' The two's and three's got some good reps today. We needed to get some red zone and third down work done. They understand how they've got to come back."

(On if he has any update on the status of LT Tristan Wirfs)

"He should be fine by training camp."

(On how confident he is in QB Kyle Trask)

"We've got a lot of confidence in Kyle. He just needs playing time. It's hard to play him when you've [had] two Bonafide starters ahead of him since he's been here. Just the more time he gets, the more confidence he gets. Preseason will be big for him, getting the reps down – we'll take a look at him there, but he's been fine so far."

(On his message to the team as they leave for a break before training camp)

"Obviously, come back in shape. Working out indoors [isn't] going to help them when we come back in this heat. They understand what they're coming back to. Just be ready to roll."

WIDE RECEIVER MIKE EVANS

(On RB Rachaad White saying this team's mindset is 'hungry' and what Evans' mindset is heading into this season)

"Same mindset. Put in the work. You get what you put in, so I've been putting in a lot of work – the whole team has and [I'll] enjoy this break and come back ready to go."

(On his impressions of rookie WRs Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson)

"I know I say it a lot but this might be the best receiving room I've been a part of. I say it every year but we always get great players coming in so that's been very fortunate for me in my career to be around a lot of great young players and they've added to the room tremendously. They're already very polished already. Emeka has really strong hands, super smart. Tez [has] speed, quickness."

(On what it does for him to have excited rookies in the wide receiver room)

"It gives me motivation. I was once in those shoes and I remember that hunger, and it helps me keep that hunger – seeing young great players like that that are hungry."

(On sitting down with Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice)

"That was pretty cool, man. I had met Jerry briefly back in 2018, I think. It was really quick. Being able to sit down and talk to the greatest receiver ever was pretty humbling. The things he had to say about me… It was a great moment for me."

(On how Offensive Coordinator Josh Grizzard has taken on his role)

"Josh – Coach 'Grizz' is… Last year, we talked a lot but he didn't talk as much in groups, and he does a really great job of talking in front of everybody. We didn't get to see that last year but he's a really great coach and I look forward to having a great season for him."

(On what he's seen from rookie CBs Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish)

"I've only been in minicamp – I'm sure y'all knew that, but Ben's been out. I've heard great things about him, and Parrish is all over the place. He's really good."

(On what his thoughts were on Draft night when a lot of people didn't expect Tampa Bay to pick someone like WR Emeka Egbuka in the first round)

"I didn't either but Jason [Licht] has always been great in drafts and we went to pick the best player available and from what I've seen so far, he definitely was the best player available. [I'm] looking forward to a great year from Emeka."

RUNNING BACK BUCKY IRVING

(On how it feels to have his first offseason being able to focus on just football)

"It feels good. [It's my] first time after the season really getting some time to take the time to myself and pretty much get off the field and relax a little bit. As you know, as you start playing as a kid, you never really get [any] time of being off or things like that. Everything is either you're playing little league football, right to basketball, right to park football but yeah, just being able to sit back and relax, get some time off and then get out here on the grass."

(On what he saw himself improve on throughout last season)

"I feel like once you always start something new, it's going to have to slow down for you a little bit. When I first got thrown in, the game was moving pretty fast for me but yeah, as I just settled down and let the game – and just think about it like, 'it's just football.' And not think about too [many] other things that are going on out there. But yeah, just always going back and looking at the film and looking at things that you can get better at and improve in and also not getting satisfied and stuck in last year, because it's a new year. Nobody cares about what you did last year. It's, 'What can you do for me now?' But I've always been that guy that pretty much never gets stuck in the past and always [am] where my feet [are] and work hard every day."

(On RB Rachaad White's leadership and his relationship with White)

"Our relationship [goes] a long way. That type of stuff we don't let get in between our relationship. We know when [we're] both out there, we have a high role on this team so we're going to do that at a high level. That's just a guy that's always been the same. Since I got here, he was always there for me. [We're] always talking to each other about what we see out there on the field and just coaching each other up. I mean, in this profession you always have to have somebody that has your back. Like I said, in that room, we're tight. We don't let all the outside noise interfere with how our relationship is. Just going out there knowing somebody has your back, we're going to compete for one another each time that we step out there on the field. It's a blessing to have somebody like that."

(On what it's been like watching his college teammate WR Tez Johnson make plays)

"It's been a blessing, man. He used to always call me after a game or something to be like, he wants to play for the Buccaneers and I'd be like, 'Man, you have a whole season to focus on, man. Just focus on that.' And then the man above made it happen for him and his dream came true."

(On what it does for the offense and run game to have the entire starting offensive line back again this season)

"We have all [those] guys returning but just being able to have trust in those guys. Like you always say, when I come up here, I don't talk about myself. I talk about the O-line because without those guys, none of these things are possible so just being able to give credit to those guys every chance that I get, I'm going to do that."

(On what he's seen from Offensive Coordinator Josh Grizzard)

"I mean, we all know 'Grizz' has stepped up to be our new offensive coordinator but the craziest thing about it is last year, I was pretty close with 'Grizz' because I'd be wanting him to coach me up on different things like screens and things like that and he always had an answer for me like, 'Yeah Bucky, we need you to do this and that.' We all know he's a smart guy so being able to know that he's coming in, [he has] a high role to do – just being able to follow his lead and know that he will put us in the right position and just going out there and executing at a high level for him."

(On what it's like sharing a locker room with a guy like WR Mike Evans)

"When I first got here, Mike was one of the first to just come up to me and say what's up. You never know how those guys really are because you're on the outside looking in so when you actually get to be around those guys and see how humble they are and see the things that he did for this league and this organization – just being able to see how humble he is every day. He doesn't really – you never see him get too high. You never see him get too low but just being able to watch him and see how he grows each and every day, it's a blessing to be around someone that I can probably tell my family or kids one day that I played with one of the greatest to ever do it."

LINEBACKER ANTHONY WALKER JR.

(On how minicamp has been for him so far and how he has been mentioned from teammates as someone who chirps in practice)

"For me, it's just [the] Year 9 offseason, you want the season to come a little faster every year, but this is a crucial time [for] that team bonding, that team comaraderie getting built on that field. Again, there's going to be some days where you have to bring the juice, bring the energy. You know, you're going against each other for a long period of time before you're going against a different opponent so how can you continue to get better, make it fun, make it competitive and just have fun doing it? Man, this is a game – a little kid game that we get to enjoy. I'm about to be 30 years old this year so I'm enjoying it, still having fun with it."

(On his takeaways of LB SirVocea Dennis so far)

"He'll be a great player in this league for a very long time. We've been talking about it since I met him. [On the] first day at OTAs [he] made one of the best plays I've ever seen a linebacker make – including Lavonte David [laughs]. Don't tell him I said that. Man, he's special, very cerebral, knows the game very well, can really do everything on the field as a pass dropper, blitzer and run defender. I'm excited to see him. I told him, 'As much as you can – football has an 100% injury rate, but as much as you can, stay healthy.' He'll put himself in a great position by the end of this year."

(On what it's like to be teammates with long-time friend LB Lavonte David)

"It still feels surreal sometimes. It's kind of like taking a group chat and going on a trip together finally [laughs]. We compete every day, mentally. Obviously, [we were] on different sides. I [was in] the AFC, he's in the NFC and then now to be teammates and still have that competitive nature daily – I actually live with him, so every day [we're] just trash talking, but making sure we hold each other accountable like everybody in that room."

(On what he likes about the culture with the Buccaneers)

"I've been on some really good teams. I love the way they do things here from top to bottom. All the guys, the coaches, the offensive coaches, defensive coaches – it's a real family-organization here. I'm excited to be here. I told Lavonte I want to finish my career here so I'm excited to just join it and play my role in helping this team win."

(On how it feels to be a part of the position room that Head Coach Todd Bowles considers the deepest)

"Like I said, that's the standard that we're trying to set and we have to earn that every day. That's not a one-time thing. On every team, the linebacker room is the quarterback of the defense so that's our standard every day. We have to be that group. We have to lead this team. Obviously, we have guys everywhere on this team that make plays and all that but we have to be the best group on the field for us to get to where we want to be."

-BUCCANEERS-