What Todd Bowles Is Looking For With Rookie Minicamp
May 9th, 2026
Goal of rookie minicamp.
Aside from the guys the Bucs drafted and maybe a handful of undrafted free agents, what exactly can be accomplished by the Bucs this weekend by throwing 70 guys together, most of them strangers to each other and first-timers in Tampa?
What is KitKat-eating Bucs coach Todd Bowles hoping for and wanting from the rookies?
“The biggest thing is not [to make] the same mistake two or three times in a row,” Bowles said. “You can make different ones as the install grows and you get yourself in shape. [But] you got to make sure when you make a mistake you learn from it and come back from that.
“If you keep making the same mistakes over and over again, that kind of tells the story.”
Bowles went on to say learning roles is at least as more important than what they do on the practice fields. Rookie minicamp is underwear football. No hitting until training camp.
“These guys have been studying, so we’ll come back tomorrow and see what they learned from the day, and not make that same mistake,” Bowles said.
Additionally, Bowles said many players are unfamiliar with Florida weather. Some struggled with the heat yesterday and others from the humidity. It wasn’t that hot for Floridians — but it was for guys coming from other parts of the country.
So Bowles had to take it easy on players as a result. For example, even for third-round pick Georgia State receiver Ted Hurst, Bowles said the weather was giving him a battle.