As the calendar turns to June, that means one thing. Minicamps are in full swing around the NFL, and that means training camp and the NFL season can’t be far behind.
The Buccaneers will hold their mandatory minicamp this week starting Monday, and everyone is expected to attend.
Bruce Arians has given some veterans and the starters a pass on attending the OTA’s, but Arians is expecting the starters to be present on Monday.
They might not be doing a lot but will possibly do some coaching from the sidelines and be mentally involved in the practice sessions.
There has been a lot of talk about quarterback Kyle Trask through the OTA’s, and there will be a lot of eyeballs on Trask at minicamp.
SI said in a piece that Trask was not that impressive in his OTA’s. Meanwhile, the coaching staff speaks highly of Trask and how he is learning the Bucs offense.
Bruce Arians and Byron Leftwich, all weighed in with comments on how Trask is progressing.
“Mentally-wise, Trask is not far behind what Andrew did in the same offense, and what Andrew did that year is unbelievable,” Arians said. “I’m not saying he’s Andrew Luck, but mentally he’s still really sharp.”
Arians also spoke about how difficult it is for a rookie to work against the Buc’s defense. “Yeah, it’s not easy when you’re going against our defense. He has seen a multitude of coverages and blitzes, so I’m really impressed. Having worked with guys for the first time in this offense, he’s at the top of the list as far as the learning curve, and he’s throwing the football really well.”
Offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich weighed in on how Trask is picking up the offense. “The more repetitions he gets, the better he’ll get with more reps, but I like where he’s at. He does a lot of good stuff right now to be this early. He sees the field well, and he’s able to command the huddle.”
With minicamp starting on Monday, Blaine Gabbert and Kyle Trask may get the bulk of the work as Arians wants to protect Tom Brady as much as possible as he recovers from off-season knee surgery.
Brady is moving and working out without a brace, but Arians won’t take any chances. “I don’t know how much I’ll let him do with guys chasing him around. He might be doing a lot of coaching.” Arians said.
After minicamp, The Bucs will have one more OTA session for rookies and free agents from June 15th to the 17th.
Then there will be a five-week break before the beginning of training camp on July 24th.
