Bucs join Broncos, Seahawks in skipping voluntary workouts

Tampa Bay Buccaneers players joined their Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks peers Tuesday in announcing they won't participate in voluntary offseason workouts due to the risk of COVID-19 exposure.

Broncos players were the first to collectively withdraw from optional workouts, making their decision Monday night, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo.

NFLPA president J.C. Tretter urged players to boycott this spring's in-person offseason team activities on a conference call this past Friday.

"We've been telling them it's voluntary and we're not gonna go," he said.

Tretter and NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith reiterated the union's desire to have all activities prior to training camp conducted virtually, including mandatory minicamp, in a memo to players Tuesday, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

The players' association requested an all-virtual offseason, similar to what NFLers experienced in 2020, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The NFL and NFLPA haven't announced a formal agreement regarding testing for the offseason programs.

In their statement through the players' union, Seahawks players said, "While many states in this country are still seeing rising COVID-19 numbers, we believe that a virtual offseason is best for everyone's protection."

Teams across the league were scheduled to begin their offseason programs April 19.