Buccaneers Starters Will Play In Week 2 Of Preseason Against Chiefs
August 13th, 2026
Bucs fans watching the preseason opener tomorrow night won’t see many starters, if any, but that will change quickly.
Joe talked to Todd Bowles about this yesterday afternoon.
Simply put, the Bucs just had two consecutive days of hard-hitting, high-energy practices against the New York Jets in full pads. The work was exceptional. Buccaneers legend and insider Rondé Barber even remarked on his WFLA streaming show that he watched the film of Tuesday’s practice and came away very impressed by the quality of the session.
“The energy and the speed of practice [Tuesday] was 30 percent higher,” Barbers said, making the comparison to a typical Bucs training camp practice.
Joe was impressed witnessing it first-hand.
After practicce, Joe had private time with Todd Bowles and asked the head coach about the quality of work Wednesday and Thursday. Bowles said he was pleased but downplayed the pace of play and workload that impressed Joe and Barber.
Bowles noted that the two days of joint practice is why starters will sit Friday. However, per Bowles, no joint practices next week is why the starters will play in Preseason Week 2, a home game against the Chiefs.
That higher-quality work is essential, Bowles said, and since it won’t come during next week in practice, it’ll happen under the lights at The Licht House.
Joe is pleased for the home fans. They’ll get to see some of the Bucs studs in the only home preseason game of the season.
August 13th, 2026 at 1:52 am
How do I watch the game in DC?
August 13th, 2026 at 4:26 am
We heard this same crap last year, then on the eve of the game Bowles pulled a bunch of guys saying they had a good practice. Same thing will happen this year, so don’t get your hopes up. And no, I don’t care if they had a good practice – and I don’t want to hear crap about preseason injuries. If Andy Reid is playing his guys, then there’s absolutely no reason the Bucs shouldn’t be playing their guys.
August 13th, 2026 at 4:34 am
One thing Bowles has earned, for us not to question his starts to a season. He’s been pretty good if not great.
That said, the rest is suspect.
August 13th, 2026 at 7:26 am
It’s actually a pretty smart adjustment to the preseason having one less game on the schedule. You can get looks against another team in joint practice with your stop guys, but let the depth go out in the 1st game and put something on tape to evaluate for roster cuts. Play the starters game 2 to tune up, and get that last game back to the depth guys trying to keep/earn a job. That less game you can rest your guys that may have dings in dents, so they’re as fresh as possible week one.
August 13th, 2026 at 8:15 am
@ATLBuc: I’m in Richmond. The game tomorrow will be available on the NFL Network. I’ll pay for NFL+ to watch the next two preseason games. Or you can always “adjust” your VPN.
August 13th, 2026 at 8:38 am
Zero reason to play starters tomorrow. Plenty of reason not to start them. See JMac last year trying to catch a high ball from Teddy B. Ridiculous.
Hopefully he dont witness Hurst over extending himself for a Connor B ball and seeing a similar fate.
With the amount of injuries this team suffered last year, Id put as many of these guys in bubble wrap until Week 1. No on remembers the preseason come the regular season unless it’s because of a key players getting hurt
August 13th, 2026 at 8:57 am
This game is ALL about the backups. Some enjoy that part of the game, I do.
It’s exciting to see who surprises every year and might be that diamond in the ruff.
August 13th, 2026 at 9:08 am
Bowles is the best. He’s a guru. SB bound. Everything is fixed!!! Yay!!!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡
August 13th, 2026 at 9:48 am
Lt. Dan
Thank you! I’m going to go ahead and get NFL+ and Sunday ticket. I just hate that I have to get YouTube TV to access it.
August 13th, 2026 at 10:57 am
Kramer, do you still have that cigar store Indian?
August 13th, 2026 at 11:04 am
ATLBUC⬆️. Watching the game on NFL+. A couple of things. 1) NFL network ( not plus) is showing the game , and they are part of YoutubeTV, however, if you live out of market, like I do in Atlanta, nFL network will be showing the falcons game, which forced me to get NFL + for the Tampa game. (2) to your comment re having to get YouTube to get NFL + for the preseason games… that’s not correct. You actually have to go thru the NFL app to get nfl+, you can’t get it thru YouTube. For Sunday ticket, you have to go thru YouTube. But not for Plus.
August 13th, 2026 at 1:29 pm
Cosmo do you coach at the highest level in the NFL or you just commenting on a site. 😂😂 Bowles has millions more than you. His resume also has a SB ring on it and his defense destroyed mahomes rogers and Bree’s to win that SB. While he’s not the best in the NFL he’s still better than you 🤡