As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers continue with their voluntary off-season workouts, coach Dirk Koetter isn’t too concerned with those that haven’t shown up.
The term “optional” has a tendency to be, well, not that. A lot of teams tend to look down upon players that decide not to show up, regardless of the fact that it’s supposed to be up to the individual. There’s a reason for “optional” as well as mandatory off-season activities. For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, most of the players were present but there were some that opted not to attend.
Newly acquired Jason Pierre-Paul hasn’t attended the OTAs as of yet, while Vinny Curry and Brent Grimes were no shows Thursday.
Notes from Bucs OTA practice: Jason Pierre-Paul still not at voluntary workouts. Vinny Curry also not there. Brent Grimes had been earlier this week, but not today.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) May 31, 2018
Again, it’s their decision to show up or not. It’s not likely these guys are sitting on their couch playing Fortnite and eating cupcakes. They likely have their own workout regiment that they’re doing or perhaps had already scheduled other plans before they were aware of the off-season schedule.
Either way, it doesn’t much matter that these three aren’t there. Especially in the eyes of head coach Dirk Koetter. When asked if he’s had any communication with Grimes or JPP, Koetter had this to say;
"“Yeah, all kinds, all kinds. Brent Grimes was here two days this week; he just wasn’t here today. And I’ve talked to those guys quite often. Brent Grimes has been here off and on and, yeah, we’re in contact.”"
And whether or not Jason Pierre-Paul has been at One Buc;
"“He has been here. Yeah, he’s been here, and I’m sure he’ll be here for the mandatory mini-camp.”"
These guys are veterans. They know what it takes to get their bodies ready for the rigors of another NFL season. Yes, it would be nice if the highest profile off-season acquisition was there and we saw him working out in a Bucs uniform, but this isn’t a holdout situation.
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As Koetter said, he’s confident JPP will be there when it’s mandatory. There’s no fear of JPP sitting out training camp. Really, no one should be concerned about who is or isn’t at optional training. In the end, just let these guys do what they know has worked for them in the past. It’ll probably benefit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers more in the long run.