HEAD COACH TODD BOWLES

(On the strong finish to practice by the Buccaneers' offense)

"I thought Baker [Mayfield] made some great calls at the end. Overall, it was good competition to get to see a team like that, a very physical team, a smart team. Practicing against that, it will ebb and flow both ways and we got some good work today."

(On if he is tempted to shut WR Mike Evans down for the remaining preseason games after his strong work on Thursday)

"He'll be shut down after today anyway, so yeah, you read my mind. He's definitely one of them that wasn't playing in the game, so today was his game."

(On if he has found the "hellacious" cover guys on kickoff that he was looking for)

"We found different ones that made plays. We found different ones that made plays, but we've got to see the consistency. One week you did a half-decent job; we've got to see the consistency going forward."

(On facing a seasoned quarterback like Pittsburgh QB Aaron Rodgers)

"It teaches you discipline because he's a very good hard-count guy. He can see the field better than anybody, so if anybody's tipping a blitz or tipping a coverage any way, he's going to find it, so it teaches us a lot of discipline."

(On what abilities rookie LB Nick Jackson has)

"He's instinctive. He's very instinctive. He knows how to play the game, he knows where the ball is going, he does things the right way and he makes plays when he gets the opportunity."

(On if WR Trey Palmer will play on Saturday night)

"He will not probably play Saturday. He hasn't even practiced. He's getting better; we'll see when he comes out there."

(On WR Emeka Egbuka making plays when matched up against CB Jalen Ramsey)

"I think Emeka is going to play the same no matter who he plays against. He's that polished, and he wants to get better no matter who's out there. Obviously, they've got some Pro Bowl corners over there, which is good work for us as well. That was good to see for him as well."

(On if QB Teddy Bridgewater will play on Saturday)

"Teddy is going to make an appearance, yes."

(On rookie S J.J. Roberts leaving practice with an apparent injury)

"I know it was the gunner drill. When I saw him run down the field he was fine; I don't know what happened at the top of the play. He's going to get some X-rays and an MRI tomorrow."

(On if the team's starters will play in Saturday's game)

"Barring Mike Evans and Lavonte David, everybody else should be ready to play."

(On the growth he's seen from LB SirVocea Dennis)

"Just the maturity of handling the defense. He was a nickel guy last year before he got hurt, so running the defense now and understanding where everybody should be and moving people around, you can see the growth. Becoming the closer on the field for the first time that young and playing for the first time, that's the maturity he's shown."

(On QB Teddy Bridgewater being able to join a new team late in the offseason)

"Well, he's very smart. He's played the game a long time and seen a lot of offenses, so he understands offensive schemes. The wording, the language may be different for him but once he got that down after a few days, we'd like to see him run the offense and we'd like to see him control the game."

(On Bridgewater's knowledge of the game)

"Well, he's an extra coach. You know, most good quarterbacks have another guy in there that's a veteran, that's pretty savvy, that understands the game. He can help Baker [Mayfield] out. Coaches can help him out, but there's nothing like seeing it from a player's standpoint, and he can give that to Baker."

(On the matchup of WR Mike Evans and Pittsburgh CB Jalen Ramsey)

"It's two All-Pros and two guys competing, want to be the best and wanting to get better. So, just as hungry as Jalen is, Mike is as well. It was a good battle and a good, friendly competition. Obviously, you've got to see the tape. There were no winners, just good work."

(On if WR Chris Godwin Jr. and T Tristan Wirfs made the trip to Pittsburgh)

"No, they did not."

(On the performance of the Buccaneers' defense on Pittsburgh's final two-minute drill)

"Any time you finish a two-minute drill, that's a good thing. Them not being able to score is number one, but they communicated and they executed."

(On what he has seen from CB Jamel Dean in practices)

"I didn't watch him fully. I've got to back and see one-on-ones, look at the entire practice, but he's been practicing well for us. Him and Zyon [McCollum] have been doing a very good job in man coverage and trying to disguise their coverages and switch things up for us."

(On his impression of the joint practice with Pittsburgh)

"I'll finish looking at the tape, but I thought overall it was some give-and-take. There are some things we've probably got to get better at. I've got to see the tape."

WIDE RECEIVER EMEKA EGBUKA

(On how the Buccaneers' offense fared in practice against the Steelers)

"I think we had a good practice today. Obviously, nothing is ever perfect, but there's a ton to build on. Just being able to go against another team always feels good, not going against the Bucs every single day. It was a good practice and it builds momentum into Saturday."

(On the Buccaneers' offensive two-minute drill)

"I thought it was great. I think 'J-Mac' (Jalen McMillan) had a ton of great plays. Obviously, I had one that was unfortunately called back, but it's football, that happens. But 'J-Mac' really stepped up big. He had one down the left sideline for a first [down] and 20 yards, and then another one on a tip drill against Jalen Ramsey. So, it got us the momentum going into the red zone and then obviously we're going to Mike [Evans] in that situation and he was able to cap it off."

(On the two-point attempt drill near the start of practice)

"We did two [series of] two-point plays. We went 4-3. We had seven plays, so I think that's how we like it. You want to be on the winning end and obviously we want to go 7-0, but it's going to be tight in the NFL every single time, especially down in the red zone. Those two-point plays, everything's on the line, so anytime we can come out with a win we'll be happy but we'll look back at those plays we lost and consider how to get better."

-BUCCANEERS-