Buccaneers players say they won’t participate in voluntary in-person workouts

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A year ago, Tom Brady and many of his teammates spurned the clear recommendations of the NFLPA. They continued to have offseason workouts at a local high school, even after the union advised players to stop doing so until training camp due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, the Bucs are following the recommendation of the union.

Bucs players joined Seahawks and Broncos players in announcing they have voted not to participate in any voluntary in-person workouts at the team facility. Presumably, Brady will lead off-site workouts again.

The Bucs have one of the more veteran teams in the league with all 22 starters returning.

“NFL players across our league are a group of professionals who care about our jobs, our community and our families,” the Bucs said in a statement released by the union. “We made a commitment to the organization, to Bucs fans and to each other that we would come back to try and bring another world championship to Tampa Bay.

“We know that our union worked to negotiate safety protocols, but in light of the ongoing pandemic, we are choosing to take a stand with other players across the league and exercise our right to not participate in the voluntary offseason program. We had a fully virtual offseason last year, and we held each other accountable to do the work it took to win and we plan to do that again.”

The NFLPA sent a memo to players Tuesday urging them to skip any in-person workouts this offseason.

Bucs coach Bruce Arians said recently that veteran players don’t want organized team activities to make it harder for young players to take their jobs.