The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have rules to follow during offseason practices — just like the other 31 NFL teams — mainly that they don’t become too much like regular-season practices.
That was a bridge too far for Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles, who disclosed that the NFL stripped the Buccaneers of an offseason practice after too many injuries during offseason work this week.
“The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were penalized an OTA practice for being too physical, causing them to forfeit Wednesday’s practice this week, coach Todd Bowles said Thursday,” ESPN’s Jenna Laine wrote. “The team had been scheduled to practice Wednesday after Tuesday’s scheduled day off. But then they were informed by the league that, according to Bowles, they had ‘too many guys on the ground.’ ”
The NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement prohibits contact practices during the offseason.
“It was about three or four plays that recorded us,” Bowles told Laine. “We’re trying to practice safety as well. We’ve got a lot of new guys trying to learn how to practice, but we cleaned that up and kind of took care of it. We cleaned it up after that. We understand. We’re not trying to get nobody hurt.”
While the NFL holds head coaches personally responsible for practice violations, Bowles was not fined for the practice violation, according to a league spokesperson.
Bucs Not 1st Team Nicked for Offseason Practices
The Buccaneers weren’t the 1st team to get in trouble for getting too physical during offseason practices and certainly won’t be the last.
In 2024, the Detroit Lions and head coach Dan Campbell were stripped of an offseason practice. In 2022, former Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera lost 2 offseason practices and was fined $100,000. Also in 2022, the Chicago Bears lost an offseason practice for being too physical.
In 2023, former Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy was fined and stripped of an offseason practice.
Todd Bowles: Bad Record With Player Safety
Bowles doesn’t exactly have a shining resume when it comes to his approach to player safety or dealing with injuries.
In 2024, after star wide receiver Chris Godwin suffered a season-ending leg injury in a Week 7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Bowles appeared to be laughing and smiling as he talked into his headset — a moment presented without context as to who Bowles was talking to or what he was talking about. Still, it became one of many talking points following the game. It was part of the avalanche of criticism Bowles faced after both of the Buccaneers’ star wide receivers, Godwin and Mike Evans, went down with injuries against the Ravens.
Evans was limited in practice leading up to the game due to a hamstring injury he re-aggravated in the first half. Evans appeared to have tweaked his hamstring on a 25-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter but remained in the game and left for good after dropping what would have been his second touchdown.
Also in 2024, Bowles was criticized when Tampa Bay’s leading rusher, Bucky Irving, was injured late in the season while returning kickoffs — something Bowles seemed unaware Irving was even doing when he was asked about it after the game.
Buccaneers Handed NFL Punishment Over Practice Issue