Practice notes! Lots of near picks and a rough day for Matt Gay.

Abbreviated practice today, just over an hour, as the Bucs took the field one last time before Friday night’s game in Pittsburgh. Rain surrounded the facility as the team entered to work inside the Glazer Shed. Here are the highlights, as compiled by manbeast JoeBucsFan.com intern Zachary Seifter.

*Light crowd and another day of just shells (aka not full pads) for the Bucs.

*Warmups start the action with quarterbacks working with running backs then receivers.

*Back in practice today is safety Mike Edwards. Fellow third-round pick, Jamel Dean, is out again, presumably still with the hip flexor issue. Also out for today’s practice are defensive linemen Ndamukong Suh and Beau Allen, and injured Vita Vea.

*The first 11-on-11 session gets underway and Peyton Barber kicks it off with a shifty run that gets him up the gut of the defense for a nice gain.

*After a completion, Jameis hands the ball off to Barber on a draw play and Barber is off to the races for another big gain. Reminder, no pads, so it’s not real football.

*Blaine Gabbert is now in and he finds receiver Bryant Mitchell wide-open over the middle. Completions don’t come much easier than this one as Mitchell didn’t have a defensive back within five yards of him.

*A couple of handoffs from Ryan Griffin to Andre Ellington go the defense’s way as each run is stopped at the line of scrimmage.

*Gabbert comes back in and he shoots a 20-yard bullet to Bobo Wilson, who he flies over Ryan Smith to bring in the catch.

*Offense is off to a nice start in this practice. That almost changes as RG4 looks over the middle and tries to make a throw on a comeback route. The throw is almost picked by M.J. Stewart but dropped.

*7-on-7 work begins and Jameis looks for Mike Evans 15 yards downfield but Vernon Hargreaves is all over him. The ball is overthrown and falls incomplete.

*That session ends quickly and next up is another episode of the kicking competition.

*Matt Gay is the featured kicker today. He starts shaky, missing one of his two PAT’s. He continues to struggle, missing two kicks from mid-range. He does end strong though, nailing a kick from 65 yards out!

*11-on-11 work continues as the first team offense lines up at the defense’s 22-yard line. Jameis runs a nice play-action fake and hits O.J. Howard in the flat for a first down.

*Jameis looks for Evans over the middle but the ball is almost intercepted by Devin White! The rookie jumps the pass but can’t pull it in.

*Shaq Barrett continues to have an impressive camp. He is able to bust through the line and hurry a Blaine Gabbert throw that is completed for a short gain.

*Touchdown! Back-of-the-end-zone throw by Ryan Griffin to Cortrelle Simpson.

*Second team offense takes the field for more 11-on-11. It’s 1st and 10 at the 48-yard line. Gabbert hands the ball to Andre Ellington and he is stopped at the line of scrimmage for no gain.

*2nd and 10 now. Gabbert completes a very short pass to Tanner Hudson and he runs out of bounds for no gain.

*On 3rd and 10, Gabbert fires over the middle but the ball falls incomplete.

*The third-team offense takes the field. On 1st and 10, Ryan Griffin fires a 50-50 ball deep down the right sideline to Anthony Johnson. M.J. Stewart tips the ball up and almost picks it but the ball finds its way to the turf.

*Next play, Griffin floats a beauty to Hudson over the middle for a 22-yard gain.

*Second team back in. Gabbert hands the ball to Barber and he is stopped in the backfield for a 2-yard loss. He follows it up with a couple of check downs to his RB’s.

*Practice gets cut short and the players sign some autographs for the fans and then head indoors to get ready for the Steelers!

*Please join intern Zach and The Sage of Tampa Bay Sports, Ira Kaufman, Friday night at Buffalo Wild Wings in Wesley Chapel on State Road 56 for the Bucs-Steelers game. Ira will be there about 6:45 and he’ll have gift cards while supplies last.