TAMPA — Florida’s two NFL franchises opened training camp with a flurry of turnovers and emerging position battles, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins each held their first practices of the 2026 season.
In Tampa, cornerback Zyon McCollum — who missed the final three games of the 2025 season with a hip injury — intercepted quarterback Baker Mayfield during the third-down period, undercutting a corner route intended for wide receiver Emeka Egbuka at the 25-yard line. McCollum, who posted one interception, six passes defensed, 65 combined tackles and a tackle for loss last season, pairs 4.33-second speed with instinctive route recognition.
In Miami Gardens, the Dolphins’ defense generated three splash plays during their first practice under new Head Coach Jeff Hafley. Inside linebacker Willie Gay Jr. intercepted quarterback Cam Miller and returned it for a touchdown, edge David Ojabo forced a fumble from running back Ollie Gordon II, and rookie safety Michael Taaffe picked off his former college teammate, quarterback Quinn Ewers.
The Buccaneers’ receiver room enters a new chapter following Mike Evans’ departure to San Francisco. Veteran Chris Godwin Jr., now the group’s elder statesman, has been mentoring younger players including Tez Johnson, Ted Hurst III and Egbuka. “As far as my leadership on this team, it doesn’t change at all as far as I am concerned,” Godwin said. “What I did and what I have brought to this team is completely different than what Mike brought to the team, right? So, it is not like he is gone and I am like, ‘Oh, I have got to step up and be somebody else or someone that I am not.’ I just continue to be me…I continue to encourage the other guys and continue to try and elevate my game.”
Tampa Bay’s linebacker competition also took shape, with second-round rookie Josiah Trotter taking first-team reps alongside Alex Anzalone. Trotter is competing with Christian Rozeboom and SirVocea Dennis for the Mike linebacker role. Rozeboom, signed in March, appeared in 76 career games across the Los Angeles Rams, Kansas City Chiefs and Carolina Panthers, accumulating 333 total tackles (14 for loss), 11 passes defensed, five quarterback hits, 3.0 sacks, three interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He set career highs in 2025 with the Panthers in tackles for loss (seven), sacks (2.0), forced fumbles (one) and fumble recoveries (one). “He is definitely smart,” Head Coach Todd Bowles said of Trotter. “He is quiet but he is very tough. Obviously his play will come into play once pads come on but he understands the system very well and he is moving around great…He is a thumper…He is a very confident guy.”
Rozeboom praised Mayfield’s competitiveness. “I feel like I have played Tampa a lot in my career and been with Baker in LA for his stint and I have played against him have just a ton of respect for his love of the game and his grit as a quarterback,” Rozeboom said. “I think it is hard to find that and not all quarterbacks in the league have that kind of drive and grit that he does so yeah, just a lot of respect for the guys on this team and I am excited to be a part of it.”
In Miami Gardens, edge rusher Chop Robinson arrived with roughly 10 pounds of added muscle. “I feel great,” Robinson said. “I think in the run game, especially, it’s going to help me be able to set the edge. When I put the weight on, I was eating right. I have a chef and everything now, so I’m putting the right food in my body and honestly, I feel the best I’ve ever felt.” Rookie inside linebacker Jacob Rodriguez added two pass breakups, including a diving play on a pass from Ewers to wide receiver Tutu Atwell, while wide receivers Caleb Douglas and Kevin Coleman Jr. made plays in the passing game — Douglas hauling in a contested third-and-7 catch from quarterback Malik Willis with rookie cornerback Chris Johnson in tight coverage, and Coleman catching a Willis pass over the middle for roughly 25 yards.
Defensive lineman Zach Sieler noted the team’s voluntary post-practice work as a sign of the culture Hafley is building. “Each group has leaders that just want to make sure that their position group is the best for the team, for themselves,” Sieler said. “When you’re fighting for your brothers and fighting for the men next to you, and you really stress that communication, that bond is, it’s impressive.” Cornerback JuJu Brents, who recorded a pass breakup defending wide receiver Malik Washington, called first-round rookie Johnson “like a Swiss Army knife.”
Both teams will continue training camp practices through the week, with padded sessions expected to intensify position battles at linebacker in Tampa and across Miami’s 13-player rookie draft class — the largest in the league.