Arians instituting own COVID-19 rules for Bucs' road trips

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians will introduce his own set of rules in addition to the NFL's COVID-19 protocols.

Bucs players will no longer be permitted to leave the team hotel or have family visit their accommodation during road trips, regardless of vaccination status, according to ESPN's Jenna Laine.

"There's league rules and then there's my rules. We ain't going anywhere. We're the same as last year," Arians said. "I don't give a crap if they're vaccinated or not. They ain't going anywhere."

The new stringent policy comes just a day after kicker Ryan Succop tested positive for COVID-19 following a dinner with members of the Tennessee Titans during joint practices.

No other Bucs players have been added to the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Succop, who is fully vaccinated, did not violate any team rules by having dinner with members of the Titans. Fully vaccinated individuals are allowed to leave the team hotel and attend restaurants open to the public, subject to team policies.

Unvaccinated members are prohibited from eating at dining establishments while on the road.

"For us, life is not normal," Arians said."We're pretty much under the same protocols - we're going to be under the same protocols as last year."