“He fit right in,” said Bowles. “The first day he came, he just fit right in. He picked up the scheme very well coming into minicamp. He picked it up very well. He talks to the guys, he communicates with them well, he has a great relationship with all of the guys up front. It’s like he’s been here the whole time.”
Reddick has played for the Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jet. After that aforementioned 12.5-sack break out, he signed with the Panthers and produced another 11.0 sacks, then went to Philly and had 16.0 and 11.0-sack campaigns in 2022 and 2023. Over those four seasons, his 50.5 sacks ranked fourth in the NFL, behind only T.J. Watt, Myles Garrett and Trey Hendrickson in that span. A trade to the Jets and a contract dispute essentially led to a lost season in 2024 but the Bucs inked him to a one-year deal believing he was still the same impact player he was from 2020-23.
Reddick said his NFL travels and exposure to multiple defensive schemes means there isn’t a whole lot in Bowles’ playbook that he hasn’t seen before. He says the way the Buccaneers’ defenders have meshed together and communicated over the first stretch of training camp has been “tremendous” and he sees great potential in the defense as a whole.
“I think we have the opportunity to be a special group and do some really good things and change the narrative as far as last year,” he said. “As of right now, it’s just about how good we want to be and the energy, the plays that [are] being made out here, the attitude towards practice. It’s showing that we’re trending in the right direction.”