Buccaneers
Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles said RB Bucky Irving is fully healthy following shoulder surgery and will not be limited during training camp.
“He feels fine, he’s great,” Bowles said, via the team’s website. “He’s full speed. He’s full-go right now. Obviously, when we get in pads, we’re not easing him back from anything. So, we feel pretty good right now.”
Irving thanked Tampa Bay’s training staff for helping him recover from the injuries that disrupted his second NFL season.
“Shoulder [is] feeling good,” Irving said. “I just want to thank the training staff and everyone that helped me on the road to recovery. Just taking it day-by-day. I just want to give a big thanks to them for helping me get back to where I want to be.”
Irving added the adversity he experienced last season taught him more about himself and strengthened his appreciation for football and his teammates.
“I learned a lot about myself,” Irving added. “What this game means to me — I’ve been doing this since I was 4-years-old, and [it was my] first time being hurt. Being able to also know you [are] more than just a football player and just being able to self-reflect on things that you can learn outside of football. Just being able to be around my team and know the joy [that] they bring when you [are] around them…So, just being able to know adversity is going to come at some point, but at the end of the day, it’s going to determine how you come out of that. It’s going to make you stronger.”
Irving said criticism about his size and speed continues to motivate him as he prepares for the 2026 season.
“I’ve been doubted my whole life, and just being able to have an edge…I’ve always been told I’m too small, I’m not fast enough,” Irving explained. “Things like that, it motivates me and gives me an edge when I step on the field.”
Falcons
Falcons HC Kevin Stefanski said the team must adapt after opening training camp without QB Michael Penix Jr. and QB Tua Tagovailoa fully available.
“It’s the NFL, brother,” Stefanski said, via the team’s website. “This is the NFL and you cannot predict what’s coming. You don’t have a crystal ball. I tell the coaches every year that there is stuff coming that you can’t predict and you take it for what it is, and you have to trust in the people around you and just understand that is how it goes.”
Falcons WR Jahan Dotson said the team embraced a next-man-up approach and appreciated QB Cooper Rush stepping in on short notice.
“Day 1, getting the wrinkles out, but hitting the ground running,” Dotson explained. “It’s good to see Mike out there doing what he can do in individual drills, RBA and 7-on-7s. But then, it’s a next-man-up league. It was pretty cool to see Cooper come in here earlier today and get reps in there at practice with us. I met (Rush) in the huddle. I walked over the morning at about 6:50/7 o’clock and he was out there trying out. And then, yeah, the first time I talked to him was in the huddle.”
Panthers
Panthers OLB Jaelan Phillips said OLB Nic Scourton’s season-ending ACL injury was especially difficult because of the second-year defender’s passion for football.
“Yeah, it’s devastating,” Phillips said, via the team’s website. “Nic and I have gotten very close in the short period of time that I’ve known him. He’s a guy who has an extremely high level of passion and care for this game and everything, so you hate to see that happen to anybody, but especially to someone who invests so much and loves this game so much. It’s brutal and it’s not fair, but ultimately, I’ve obviously experienced several season ending injuries and from coming from my experiences, I literally ran to the locker room to to talk to him because I just know he’s the type of guy that is going to be able to handle this adversity and I just wanted to instill the experience and the wisdom I had when it came to that.”
Phillips encouraged Scourton to find opportunities for growth during the rehabilitation process and expressed confidence that he will eventually return to form.
“I think that ultimately, you know, there’s always a silver lining in any adversity,” Phillips said. “And truthfully you just have to find it and you have to have that positive outlook and that positive perspective and for him understanding, at this time of his career he’s going to be able to get healthy, he’s going to be able to work on other areas of his body, he’s going to be able to do things off the field that he might not be able to do. And so, ultimately, it’s a blessing, and you know, he’s just got to see it as that.”
Phillips said being injured can make guys feel isolated from their teammates and emphasized the importance of keeping Scourton involved with the team throughout his recovery.
“Being hurt is something that nobody really understands how alienating it can be until you’ve been in that position,” Phillips said. “The way football is, we’re so regimented, and we have to be so present and focused that you know if something’s not in front of you, you really don’t pay a lot of attention to it.”
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