Buccaneers

The Buccaneers selected LB Josiah Trotter in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Trotter said there is “no doubt” that he can become a three-down linebacker. 

“Oh, yes sir, no doubt. Coming in, I know there’s outside noise, people saying I could or could not, but I knew what I could do. I knew what God put inside of me. So, I just wanted to come out here and show that I could not only just cover, I could blitz, pass rush and be everything that the Bucs need me to be for this organization, and then try to win football games, ultimately. So, if I need to be on the field…If there were five downs, I wish I could be on the field for five downs. But yeah, ultimately, I’m just trying to do what I can to show the organization what I can do to be able to stay on the field,” Trotter said, via the team’s official site. 

Trotter thinks their entire rookie class has done well developing throughout training camp. 

“Yeah, I think we did a great job kind of just developing, of course, not only just our relationship off the field, but just on the field, just getting better, learning. When you come in as a rookie, you know, but you don’t know everything. You’ve got a lot of room to grow, a lot of things to continue to work on. So, I think from when we first got here to now, I just think we’ve all grown, from offensive rookies to defensive rookies, where I feel like we’ve been able to help this team and organization in a certain way.”

Panthers

Veteran TE Darren Waller caught on with the Panthers earlier this month, entering the 12th year of his career. Carolina HC Dave Canales said Waller is in “phenomenal shape” in training camp. 

“He looks like he’s in phenomenal shape,” Canales said, via Joseph Person of The Athletic. “He was leaking (sweat) out here. This is a different kind of 117 (heat) index than Vegas is, where he lives. He mentioned that. He’s soaking wet. But it was a good opportunity to see where he’s at.”

Canales mentioned that they can line Waller up as a tight end and as a receiver.

“You can play him like a tight end, you can play him like a receiver. He’s huge. Just standing with him out there, he’s all of 6-6 and a half. He’s lean. He can run. All those things,” Canales said. “It’s a unique element that he brings to whatever offense he’s been a part of. The goal is just throw him into that room, challenge that room and see which guys want to elevate and create that role for Bryce (Young).”

As for playing in Canales’ offense, Waller said he’s still building an understanding of it, but is confident he’ll continue to learn. 

“The script sheet looks like Mandarin Chinese to me right now,” Waller said. “But soon it’ll be something that I understand a lot more.”

Falcons

• Both Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio and ESPN Radio columnist Mark Zinno both raised the possibility of the Falcons cutting QB Tua Tagovailoa if he doesn’t win the starting quarterback job. Atlanta’s only paying Tagovailoa the minimum salary and has veteran QB Cooper Rush and UDFA QB Jack Strand also on the roster. 
• Falcons HC Kevin Stefanski said he’ll name a starting quarterback “whenever they tell me I have to… I’m honestly not trying to be coy. We will focus on what information is available to us. Every day you’re just trying to make decisions on who is available to you.” (Josh Kendall)
• Atlanta QB Michael Penix Jr. feels he’s improving every day and thinks he’ll be ready for Week 1: “I felt good. I felt confident… Not playing this week, with only three practices under my belt.” (Tori McElhaney)
• Penix revealed he underwent a different procedure on his ACL this time, intended to help further strengthen it, but it’s part of the reason why it’s taken him longer to return from than his previous knee injuries. (McElhaney)