Buccaneers: Giovani Bernard fitting in perfectly in Tampa

Giovani Bernard is fitting in perfectly with the Buccaneers in Tampa.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers absolutely made the right decision several months ago when they signed veteran running back Giovani Bernard to pair with Tom Brady, and that decision continues to pay off as Bernard is getting more involved with his new team.

Most veterans would join their new team with a chip on their shoulder. Bernard has spent close to a decade in the NFL and performed at a very high level. While the box score wouldn’t show it, Bernard has performed at a starting capacity for a long portion of his career, so if anyone were allowed to join a new team with an air of superiority, he would be well within his right.

The Buccaneers are a very young team, especially in their running back room, so it makes sense that a player like Bernard joining as an established veteran could throw a wrench into the works, but that just isn’t the type of player that he is.

Bernard has been nothing but humble, and perhaps a little grateful, from the day that he arrived, and it makes perfect sense. Tampa has a clear opening available for a player like Bernard to step in as a mentor and a day one contributor on a team that is coming off of a Super Bowl win. This is a stark change from what Bernard experienced during his time with the Bengals on the success front.

The best way to show gratitude to a team that gives you an opportunity such as this is being a team player, and Bernard is doing that to the highest degree.

In an effort to show just how much he is buying in, Bernard is attending the voluntary workouts hosted by the Buccaneers and the veteran workouts hosted by Brady, according to Greg Auman on Twitter. Two practices a day such as this aren’t required and can be demanding, but Bernard is showing that he is totally committed to his new team.

These extra practices will only ensure that the first game reps with Bernard in a Bucs jersey will be as great as possible, and all of this comes back to the team-focused attitude that Giovani Bernard is bringing from Cincinnati.

Something tells this writer that there will be a lot of Bucs fans that fall in love with their newest running back this fall.

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