TAMPA, FL. – The Buccaneers have certainly made news this offseason. Tom Brady retired then unretired after being home for just 40 days.
Head Coach Bruce Arians unexpectedly stepped down and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles was promoted to head coach. The defensive players that spoke to the media on Tuesday at the start of their voluntary workouts all feel confident in Bowles.
“We’ve got a new head coach, but it’s a familiar face in the building,” outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka said. “I believe it’s going to be a smooth transition as long as the defense is all on the same page.”
Veteran linebacker Lavonte David thinks it’s great to have Bowles as his head coach now.
“I love it, I love the move,” David said. “They did a great thing, just putting the right guy in front. Coach Bowles is a great dude. He’s a team-first guy, he’s a player-first guy. Just to get an opportunity for the offense to learn and get to know him. I’m sure there’s going to be great things.”
Speaking of offense, Tom Brady so far is a no-show. No big deal since he’s done this before when he was with the New England Patriots. Combine that with the same offensive system and same offensive coordinator in Byron Leftwitch, no one in the Bucs organization is worried about Brady being absent. Bucs tackle Tristan Wirfs knows with Brady back the Bucs have an excellent shot at competing for a Super Bowl ring.
“I think it just opens up the window again,” Wirfs said. With him at the helm, everyone is always excited. But having Tom Brady back there and getting to protect him for one more year is pretty cool.”
One of the newest Bucs is safety Keanu Neal, who played collegiately at the University of Florida. The former Falcons and Cowboys safety and linebacker think the Bucs are a perfect fit for him.
“It feels like home,” Neal said. I’ve got a lot of respect for the organization, and what they stand for as a team. Talking with Coach Bowles, I mean, he’s a mastermind. He’s really good at what he does. So I’m really excited to be a part of this group.”
The Bucs have one of the tougher schedules in the NFL this season and will also play a regular-season game in Germany. Mandatory minicamp is June 7-9 and that’s when Brady is expected to show up, if not sooner.
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