Todd Bowles clears the air on Tampa Bay Buccaneers veteran that hasn’t been practicing with the team during OTAs
The Buccaneers have had very good attendance on the practice field throughout OTAs, but one notable veteran hasn’t been out there. Todd Bowles explained what’s going on when he spoke with reporters on Thursday.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers revamped the pass rush over the offseason, but one notable addition hasn’t made his way to the practice field, just yet.
Veteran Al-Quadin Muhammad, who signed a one-year, $6 million deal back in March, has yet to practice with his new teammates. He’s been in the building throughout OTAs, however, and has impressed coaches both in the classroom and the weight room.
“He’s been great in the classroom, he works out, he’s in the weight room, and everything else, he’s doing very good there,” Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles told reporters Thursday. “So just to get him back out on the field will be a bonus. We just have to be careful next week with giving him too many reps.”
To be clear, Bowles confirmed Muhammad is not dealing with an injury. Therefore, Bowles is simply talking about easing him back into action when he says the Buccaneers have to “be careful” with his rep allocation.
You don’t want to have a player going full bore the first time he steps on the practice field. That’s just asking for an injury to happen.
Muhammad has just been treating the “voluntary” part of the offseason as such.
“It’s voluntary,” Bowles later added before stating he expects to see Muhammad on the practice field during next week’s mandatory minicamp.
Al-Quadin Muhammad’s 2025 stats
The Buccaneers signed Muhammad after his career year in 2025. No one is expecting him to replicate last year’s numbers, but the sack specialist can certainly add some juice to the pass rush in 2026.
- Sacks: 11.0
- Tackles for loss: 9
- QB hits: 20
How will Al-Quadin Muhammad factor into the Buccaneers’ pass rush rotation?
The Buccaneers definitely have a blueprint in place for Muhammad and they plan on taking full advantage of his versatility.
“He’s a pro, he’s serious, (and) you can line him up all over the place,” Buccaneers run game coordinator/outside linebackers coach Larry Foote said during rookie minicamp. “That’s the flexibility that he brings. I was surprised that we got him, because you can line him up all over the place, and he plays with that mindset and attitude that you look for. He’s mean, he’s nasty, and he’s been doing it for a long time.”
He’s a true chess piece that can be moved around the board and it’ll be fun to watch how Bowles deploys him.
It’s viable to view Muhammad as a designated pass rusher in 2026, which means he’ll probably play around 30-40% of defensive snaps, overall. He’ll have a good year in that role as long as injuries don’t force him into a spot where he has to take on more than he’s capable of doing.
All that kicks off next week during mandatory minicamp and then it’ll really ramp up once training camp begins at the end of July.