It didn't take long for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' biggest offseason addition to start making the wrong kind of waves. Haason Reddick was handed $14 million to try and help fix the team's pass rush but he didn't exactly put any early emphasis on 'rush'.
Reddick skipped OTAs at the end of May, which were voluntary but sent the wrong message after everything that happened last year. After getting traded to the Jets, Reddick held out for a new contract that never got offered and ended up wasting half a season away from the team.
It's something that dinged his stock, one that has Pro Bowl value when he's playing at the level we've seen in the past. That's why the Bucs were so excited to bring him in, but it's also why his absence at OTAs spoke a little louder than anyone would have liked.
Now that mandatory minicamp has opened, Reddick is finally expected to report to the team, and head coach Todd Bowles is getting ahead of any potential drama that could get spun from the whole ordeal.
Todd Bowles ends any Haason Reddick drama before it can even start
While speaking to the media on Monday, Bowles brushed off Reddick's absence at OTAs, saying that he was never worried about his veteran pass rusher reporting to camp.
New #Bucs edge Hassan Reddick, who has not attended voluntary OTAs, is in the building in anticipation for mandatory minicamp, sources say.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 9, 2025
Coach Todd Bowles was not concerned, saying, “I'm sure one of these days we'll see him."
This isn't the first time Bowles addressed the situation, monotonously quipping that he knew that someday he'll see Reddick at Bucs camp. That day has finally come -- at least Reddick is showing up for media appearances -- but both that and this most recent response go to show just how unbothered Bowles and the team were about Reddick waiting to show up.
To be fair, he wasn't the only veteran who waited until mandatory minicamp to report. Mike Evans also skipped OTAs, although the major difference there is that he's already a firmly established veteran leader. Reddick isn't, which is why it was a bit of a bummer he didn't get a head start on embedding himself with his new team.
For all that was made about Reddick skipping OTAs, though, it turns out Bowles was right from the start and this was a big bunch of nothing in the end. All that counts is what Reddick does from this point on, which the Bucs made a pretty considerable gamble that good things are ahead.
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