Receiver Joey Galloway missed practice again today. But the veteran did do some football-related work, catching passes from an assistant coach while running simple routes, then, doing the same thing with a little bit better quarterback delivering passes: Jeff Garcia.

Garcia still isn't participating in some full-speed drills as he attempts to bounce back from his calf strain. Meanwhile, Galloway, who has a strained groin, probably won't play this preseason. Coach Jon Gruden stopped short of ruling him out of exhibition games when I asked him this morning, but Gruden concedes that Galloway has never played much in the preseason and would not suffer from sitting out this year. That means the first hit Galloway takes could be from, say, Jonathan Vilma of the Saints on opening day.

"He hasn't exactly been the go-to receiver in the preseason around here," Gruden said of Galloway. "We rested him last year and I'm still resting him."

But given Galloway's offseason, you have to wonder if the Bucs at least want to make certain Galloway is up to the task before games start to matter. Galloway underwent offseason shoulder surgery after sustaining a late-season injury in December. And this latest injury, suffered in a personal workout before the start of training camp, is another setback for him.

At this point, there must be at least some concern inside the organization about Galloway's preparation, considering the Bucs break camp later this week and Galloway still hasn't suited up.

"Yes, I'm concerned," Gruden said. "If you're the head coach and you're (top) receiver hasn't practiced yet, yes, you're concerned. But we're also looking at it optimistically because we proved the other night that we have some young guys who are capable of playing and we're thrilled with that."

Galloway actually donned a helmet today and is doing more lateral movement, so perhaps he's closer to returning. But then again, Gruden said long ago that the target date for Galloway's return was Monday, Aug. 4 -- eight days ago.