Former Buccaneers WR Deven Thompkins accused of domestic abuse

Throughout the offseason, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made little to no questionable moves, with their revamped roster showing that ahead of the 2024 season. The Bucs did an excellent job in the obvious re-signing of Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans, Lavonte David, Antoine Winfield Jr., and Chase McLaughlin, and also managed to add Jordan Whitehead, Sua Opeta, Ben Bredeson, and Bryce Hall to the roster.

The work is hardly over, though. Over the next two months, the Buccaneers will have to decide which players are important enough to make the team's final 53-man roster on August 31. The first deadline is Tuesday, August 17, with teams needing to cut their roster down to 85 players.

Just last week, general manager Jason Licht wasted no time getting closer to the 85-player total set in August, cutting veteran wide receiver Deven Thompkins with an injury designation. The move was quite shocking at the time, as it came after Thompkins served as the Buccaneers' primary return man for the past two seasons.

The Bucs had said the door was open to Thompkins returning, but that's being cast under a new light after allegations of domestic abuse surfaced earlier this week.

Former Buccaneers player Deven Thompkins accused of domestic abuse

Maria Castilhos, Thompkins' soon-to-be ex-wife, posted allegations of domestic violence on her TikTok account. She posted a video containing a series of photos showing bruises on her face, elbow, and wrist. Castilhos wrote in the video that she's walking away from her marriage with Thompkins because, "he would've killed me".

Days after the first video, Castilhos posted a second TikTok scrolling through screenshots of messages with the caption: “You should be afraid, the NFL will interrogate you. He wants an apology video posted within 24 hours so he won’t sue you for defamation of character.”

Both videos have gained over 1.5 million views.

Later, Castilhos detailed the alleged abuse in a third video over eight minutes in length. Castilhos opened the video stating that she won’t be speaking about the ongoing custody battle and divorce. Instead, she gave a long history of their romance, dating back to their high school years in 2015. The video contains screenshots of her conversations with Thompkins’ family and additional photos of injuries from the alleged abuse.

No arrests have been made, nor have any charges been filed against Thompkins. The Buccaneers haven't yet commented on the situation, nor has the league office. It did not appear that any members of the media were aware of the allegations prior to talking with players and coaches on Tuesday, and it's unclear how or if it will be brought up at the team facility.

Update (6/5/24)

Thompkins issued an official statement through his attorney 'categorically' denying the allegations made against him by Castilhos.

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