The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will again use joint practices as a key part of their preseason preparation, with head coach Todd Bowles confirming the club is scheduled to work alongside the New York Jets and is attempting to finalize similar arrangements with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Tampa Bay’s preseason schedule already includes road matchups against both teams, providing the Buccaneers with additional competitive work before the start of the regular season. The Buccaneers will visit the Jets during preseason action and are expected to hold two days of joint practices leading into that exhibition matchup. Bowles also indicated that Tampa Bay is working to organize joint sessions with Jacksonville before the clubs meet later in the preseason.
The Buccaneers are no strangers to either opponent during August preparations.
Tampa Bay will make its second preseason trip to MetLife Stadium in the last four years after also facing the Jets on the road during the 2023 preseason. The upcoming exhibition will mark the ninth preseason meeting between the two organizations, with the Buccaneers holding a 5-3 advantage in the series history. The Jaguars have long been a familiar preseason opponent due largely to geography, and Tampa Bay will return to Jacksonville for an August contest for the second time in three years. The clubs also met during the second week of the 2024 preseason when Jacksonville secured a 20-7 victory after the teams conducted two days of joint practices leading into the game.
The Jaguars currently hold a 9-5 advantage in the preseason series.
Joint practices have increasingly become valuable evaluation opportunities across the NFL, allowing coaching staffs to create competitive environments while controlling practice tempo and player workloads more effectively than preseason games alone. For Bowles and Tampa Bay, the additional work could prove particularly valuable entering a season carrying heightened expectations. The Buccaneers will play only one preseason game at Raymond James Stadium this summer, but it arrives with considerable intrigue.
Tampa Bay’s lone home exhibition contest will come on Saturday, August 22, against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch tied to one of the most significant moments in franchise history. The two organizations last shared the field at Raymond James Stadium during Super Bowl LV to conclude the 2020 season, when Tampa Bay delivered a 31-9 victory to capture the franchise’s second championship while becoming the first team in NFL history to win a Super Bowl in its home stadium.
With road trips to New York and Jacksonville, additional practice opportunities against AFC competition, and a home matchup against Kansas City, Tampa Bay’s preseason schedule offers Bowles and his staff multiple chances to evaluate roster battles and continue preparing a veteran group expected to contend deep into January.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Buccaneers planning joint practices with Jets and Jaguars
Reporting by Glenn Erby , Buccaneers Wire / Bucs Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
