Aaron Rodgers might be joining Bucs during preseason practice

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a new look and might be getting a new partner for their preseason joint practice. 

After an offseason of rather singificant change, things are going to look a little different for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this year.

Tom Brady retired — for real this time — and left in his wake a few different situations the Bucs front office needed to navigate. Brady retiring strapped the Bucs with $35 million in dead cap space, which was in addition to the team being $55 million over the cap when the offseason began.

With Brady gone, the team moved on from veterans like Donovan Smith, Cameron Brate, and Leonard Fournette in an effort to get back under the cap before free agency began. It set up a rather bleak outlook for the team, but the front office found a way to bring back guys like Jamel Dean and Lavonte David while signing free agents like Baker Mayfield and Chase Edmonds.

It was truly the end of an era, a fun three years of chasing a championship which resulted in a Super Bowl title returning to Tampa Bay. Now the team needs to consider what the first steps of the next era are, and that extends beyond what the roster will look like.

Buccaneers hoping to hold joint practice with Jets this year

While the Bucs will be without a future Hall of Fame quarterback during the preseason — no disrespect to Baker Mayfield or Kyle Trask — there might still be one present at practice.

According to Greg Auman, who confirmed an earlier report from our friends at JoeBucsFan, the Bucs are hoping to hold a joint practice this preseason with the New York Jets. This would mean that Aaron Rodgers would be joining the Bucs this August.

Nothing is official yet, but it’s another change the team is enduring as it charts a new path forward. Typically the Bucs have held joint practices with the Miami Dolphins thanks to the close proximity of the two teams.

The team has also held joint practices with the Tennessee Titans, including one back in 2021 that caused some fireworks after players like Antonio Brown and Jeffery Simmons got into it on the field.

Changing up the joint practice routine isn’t as significant a change as changing up the roster, but it’s still something new. It’s also notable that Rodgers will be present, although it’s unclear how involved he’ll be with the Jets preseason workouts given how lightly involved he’s been with the Packers over the last few years.

If all goes to plan, the Bucs would join Rodgers and the new-look Jets in New Jersey ahead of that week’s preseason game.