TAMPA, Fla. — Finally, the Buccaneers and Titans got to hit someone other than their teammates. Thursday, Tampa Bay hosted Tennessee for a joint practice ahead of this weekend's preseason opener.
Joint practice is a combination of working on fundamentals, doing minor preparation for your opponent, and not opening too much of the playbook.
"Generally say, 'What would we call without diving into it?' but 'What are we still trying to work on?' There’s a mix and match of both," Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield said after practice. "What are we still trying to execute at a really high level? and 'What can we really try against this defense?' Yeah. Some good, some bad."
WATCH: Bucs host Titans for animated joint practice
The two teams even mixed in a little "ugly" to go along with the good and the bad. A small fight broke out during one of the timed periods, but no one was hurt, and order was restored after a couple of minutes.
"Yeah, our group’s not going back down," Mayfield said with grin. "You had guys shoving people late, in the back. We’re not gonna back down, We’re not gonna start it because we’re not stupid. But, we’ll finish it... I was in the middle of it. It was fun."
Head Coach Todd Bowles added, "It’s not necessary. We’re not trying to do that right there. They’re not trying to do it, as well. It’s hot and you got pads on.It’s going to happen. Welcome to training camp."
Bowles was also impressed with the play of edge rusher Haason Reddick. Reddick signed a one-year deal this offseason, and has continued to progress in Bowles' scheme. He turned heads Thursday with an interception during the 11-on-11 portion of practice.
"It was a good change of pace call in [the two-minute drill]. He came up with the play. We reloaded after that," Bowles said. "But he made a big play to get us off the field, and possibly some points. That was huge to see."
The rest of the defense was just happy to tackle a player wearing a different uniform.
"First time going against another scheme, another look, different personnel, different receivers. It’s always good to get that exposure. I thought we held up pretty well," linebacker Anthony Nelson said. "We definitely got some thing to clean up. We got a couple more weeks of camp before we get it rolling. So we got time to do it. We’ve just got to be focused on it."
The Bucs and Titans kick off their first preseason game Saturday at 7:30 p.m. from Raymond James Stadium.
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