The Bucs roster has reported to Tampa Bay, and as a result, they have started their journey into the 2025 season. It starts at home in Tampa Bay, but they hope it ends on the road in Santa Clara, where they have a chance to raise the Lombardi Trophy for the second time in five years.

The worst part of football, especially during training camp, is waiting for injury updates as they occur or as players attempt to return from injuries sustained the previous season.

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In the case of the Bucs, they had to battle the injury bug more than they did any divisional opponent. It will make monitoring injuries throughout camp a big part of our coverage here on Bucs Wire over the next couple of weeks.

After day five, plays continued to be made on both sides of the ball, but one new addition to the team continues to turn heads as we head into the second calendar week of training camp.

Emeka Egbuka continues to make plays

The Bucs were already considered to have one of the best offenses in the NFL, and then they drafted Emeka Egbuka. The first-round pick out of Ohio State was considered by many to be the most pro-ready wide receiver in the class and early on in camp he has proved that. He has made acrobatic catches, shown good awareness on the sideline and back of the endzone, and also become a favorite target of Baker Mayfield.

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Every day, it seems there is a new play being made that is being talked about by the media, but now the team is sharing clips on social media. While everyone waits for Chris Godwin Jr. to return and Jalen McMillan to emerge as the WR3 after having that role in 2024, Egbuka is making that decision hard on Todd Bowles. If there is a continued connection with Mayfield and the former Buckeye as camp roles on, someone is going to be left in the cold.

Bucs watching Calijah Kancey in the best way possible

The Bucs want to see what a 17-game version of Calijah Kancey looks like, both to their benefit and the detriment of opposing offenses. He broke out in 2024 with a dominant second half but a slow first half of the season coming off a calf injury hampered things. Now, in 2025, the Bucs are hoping to see what a 17-game version of him looks like, which includes Vita Vea.

Kancey’s linemate spoke about the work that the former Pittsburgh Panther has done this offseason and heading into the new year. Vea says, “I expect big things from him, he has shown a lot,” said Vea. “Especially from OTAs to minicamp to now, he has shown a lot of upsides in how he is playing, and how much he has learned in the past couple of years. I am excited to see what he does this year, and I expect nothing but big things from him.”

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Baker Mayfield’s contract a sign of things to come?

Baker Mayfield received a bonus of sorts on Monday when his contract with the Bucs was revised to include more guaranteed money. Now, $30 of his $40 million in 2025 will be guaranteed and it sets him up to make a good payday in the coming months, or after the season. The Bucs have seen their franchise take everything to the next level as a whole, is locking it up the next step?

Like most contracts, the sooner a team can lock someone up the better which makes it interesting this isn’t a full scale extension. Jason Licht and his front office will lock up Mayfield eventually, but for how much? The quarterback market in 2027 is not the strongest so Mayfield would get more money thrown his way. That being said though, look for Mayfield to be paid like a top ten quarterback sooner rather than later.

This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Bucs training camp notebook, Day 5: Emeka Egbuka continues to impress