The Tampa Bay Buccaneers passed an important milestone in their 2026 training camp on Monday. For the first time since the 2025 season finale, Buccaneers placed walked onto the field in full sets of pads. In the eyes of many players and coaches, this is when the real football begins.
"Now it feels like it's real football," said rookie outside linebacker Rueben Bain Jr. "[Special Teams Coordinator] Danny Smith would always say that everything we were doing was 'football-light.' Now we're playing real football."
The Buccaneers didn't have any choice in the matter. The current CBA includes very specific rules regarding how teams can practice in the early days of a training camp, which create a ramp-up period intended to lessen the chance of injuries. The Bucs practiced twice in just helmets and shorts and then added spiders (a smaller, lighter version of shoulder pads) for the next two days. Monday brought the fifth practice of camp, which is the first time full pads were allowed. The Bucs didn't waste any time taking that next step, to the players' delight.
"It's fun," said tight end Cade Otton. "There's a lot of excitement, a lot of aggressiveness taken out. But that's what it's all about. This is real football. In OTAs and the first few days of camp you kind of get away from that a little bit, so it's good to get back to the physicality of the game."
The difference is most notable around the line of scrimmage, where the largest men on the team are now making unrestrained contact on every snap. It shows up particularly on running plays; tackling is still frowned on but running backs are now being physically stopped in their tracks rather than allowed to run free to the end zone on every handoff.
"It definitely get a little bit different for the crossing routes and some of the runs that look like they're free but now when guys come on they're not," said linebacker Alex Anzalone. "So it changes things up a bit."
With the hitting inevitably comes an uptick in the intensity of practice, which is actually the desired result. Each win by one side or the other on a particular snap was being celebrated a little bit more on Monday.
"It definitely sets the tone," said Anzalone. "You've got the juices flowing a little bit; it takes some time. We'll get better as we get going. We'll continue to grow and continue to get more physical as this training camp goes along. It's not necessarily how you play on the first day in pads, it's how you play on Day 12. That's kind of the thought process."
More intense play can lead to more mistakes as well, especially in the earliest days in pads. The Bucs had visiting NFL refs on the field on Monday and they were a bit busier than usual.
"I saw a lot of yellow flags but I saw a lot of physicality, as well," said Head Coach Todd Bowles. "It's the first day in pads, it's going to happen. We'll clean up those things and evaluate the players when we watch the tape."
Each of the Bucs' next three practices will feature full pads, including Tuesday's annual night practice. Prior to the donning of pads there have been pockets of trash talking here and there on the field. Now there's more of an opportunity to back that talk up, and that brings an added element to the proceedings. But it's all in service of one goal.
"Some position have some certain numbers circled," said Otton with a smile. "It's all fun, though. There is some of that, there is a lot of competing as a team, as offense and defense. We're coming together as a team and competition inspires that."
