{"id":255519,"date":"2025-11-20T10:52:42","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T15:52:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=255519"},"modified":"2025-11-20T10:52:42","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T15:52:42","slug":"todd-bowles-hopes-take-a-hit-amid-bucs-locker-room-reports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/11\/20\/todd-bowles-hopes-take-a-hit-amid-bucs-locker-room-reports\/","title":{"rendered":"Todd Bowles\u2019 Hopes Take a Hit Amid Bucs Locker Room Reports"},"content":{"rendered":"

Todd Bowles walked into Wednesday hoping for a normal practice. But he got a disaster movie instead. The Bucs coach needed to ramp up Chris Godwin and Bucky Irving. He needed to prepare for Matthew Stafford. Instead, the team facility became an infirmary. You remember that scene in “Outbreak” where everyone starts coughing? It felt like that. Only this bug attacked timing. It attacked preparation. It attacked Bowles’ carefully laid plans. And the illness spread fast.<\/p>\n

Really fast. It didn’t care about the Rams game. It didn’t care about playoff positioning. By Wednesday afternoon, Bowles faced a math problem. How do you practice with twenty people down? How do you game-plan when your quarterback is sick? The questions piled up faster than answers. Meanwhile, the clock kept ticking toward Sunday Night Football. The Rams<\/a> aren’t waiting for anyone.<\/p>\n

A Bug’s Life…But Not the Pixar Kind<\/h2>\n
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Jun 10, 2025; Tampa Bay, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles gives a press conference after mini camp at AdventHealth Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wednesday came with a bang. But not the kind Bowles would have liked. The Bucs held their typical Wednesday walkthrough. But this one was out of necessity, not routine. An illness ripped through the building. It hit players. It hit coaches. About twenty people suffered in total. Five coaches fell ill. Fifteen players joined them. Unfortunately, the Bucs GM didn’t give the HC too much luxury<\/a>. And Bowles watched his available bodies shrink. And his practice plan crumbled with them. Sadly, the quarterback room took a direct hit.<\/p>\n

Baker Mayfield landed on the limited list with illness. Emeka Egbuka caught it too<\/a>. Graham Barton, Luke Goedeke, Logan Hall, Dan Feeney\u2014all limited. The offensive line looked like a MASH unit. Chris Godwin and Bucky Irving remained limited with their injuries. The ramp-up became a crawl. Meanwhile, Bowles didn’t sugarcoat it.<\/p>\n

“Unfortunately, this Wednesday, a lot of people have taken ill,” he said. “There is a bug going around the building. We had about five coaches and about 15 players down, so that helped aid in this walkthrough. There’s nothing we can really do about that today.” That’s coaching honesty. But that’s also coaching frustration. You could almost… almost hear it in his voice. Besides, cornerback Jamel Dean showed up at the walkthrough.<\/p>\n