Buccaneers Tweets of the Week: 2/23-2/29

There was plenty of news that hit—for the Buccaneers and everyone else—throughout the week at the NFL Scouting Combine. So, naturally, Twitter was buzzing pretty much 24 hours a day for the last seven days. We’ve covered a lot of the tidbits that have surfaced right here on this very site, so while we could fill up this feature with Combine news, we’ll venture mostly outside of that because there was still plenty of noteworthy Bucs tweets throughout this week.

If you read the initial installment of this weekly feature last week, you know how this goes. These tweets come from Bucs players, coaches, team staff, the team’s official account, or just about anyone, really. So, let’s dive right into the top tweets from the week of Feb. 23-Feb. 29:

Mike Evans shares his heartfelt reaction to the passing of Kacey Reynolds

Unfortunately, this week started out on a very sad note for the Buccaneers organization and its fan base. On Sunday, the team announced that 19-year-old Bucs fan Kacey Reynolds had passed away after a three-year fight with Hodgkin lymphoma. Just last year, Reynolds announced the team’s selection of Devin White at the NFL Draft as part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation before being invited to Tampa by head coach Bruce Arians for White’s introductory press conference. While there, he got to play pool with Pro Bowl receiver Mike Evans, who was also the one to initially deliver the news that Reynolds would be announcing the pick at the draft.

Evans, who obviously got to establish a relationship with Reynolds during his visit, tweeted his reaction to the heartbreaking news Sunday afternoon. It’s tough news to see for anyone, much less someone who got to meet the kid and spend some time with him. There’s no doubt big No. 13—as well as White and the rest of the team—will have a little extra motivation come time for the 2020 season. On behalf of the Bucs Nation staff, our thoughts and prayers are with the Reynolds family during this difficult time. Kacey will always be a part of the Buccaneer family.

Here we goooo! New uniforms are, in fact, on their way later this spring...

Bucs fans have been wanting new uniforms since, well, the Bucs got new uniforms in 2014. The team’s third-ever look wasn’t exactly a popular one, so the cries for an upgraded look have only grown louder and louder over the years. There were rumors about a change earlier this offseason before the much-talked-about teaser video posted on the Bucs’ official Twitter account really got people excited. And now, we have official confirmation that’s officially official. Did you hear it’s official? The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have a new look in 2020.

From the teaser video, the announcement video, the posters around town and even some hints dropped by Bruce Arians, it seems like Tampa Bay is bringing back elements of the past—likely in a modernized way. Regardless, it’s apparent that the alarm clock numbers will soon be a distant memory. We’ll get to see the new threads in April (which still has this guy wondering what free agency announcements and press conferences will look like for the Bucs in March). The unveiling truly can’t come soon enough.

Jameis Winston continues to give amid questions about his Bucs future

Jameis Winston using his financials and platform to make a difference? Oh, just the same ol’ same ol’. Seriously, it’s been outstanding to watch Winston make in impact off the field ever since he was drafted by the Bucs in 2015, and no matter what his future holds—whether in Tampa or elsewhere—it will continue to be a pleasure watching him do things like this.

The Buccaneers prove once again to be a first-class organization

How can you not love this? First of all, it’s pretty dang cool that this “Women of the NFL Combine” gathering has become a thing. But for the Bucs to swoop in unannounced and pick up the tab? Now that’s awesome. This organization is first-class in its off-the-field dealings more often than not, and its support of women in football has been a joy to see over the years. From their Women of Red program to the scholarships they have set up for girls’ flag football and gestures like this, the Bucs are doing an excellent job of setting a culture that promotes and supports women in football. It’s one of those things that goes beyond the field and truly is impacting the future for young women dreaming of working in any aspect of the game.

Wouldn’t this be something?

It would actually be pretty wild to see Michael Pittman Jr. in a Bucs uniform 13 years after his father, Michael Pittman, donned one himself. Pittman, of course, was a huge part of Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl run in 2002 and, overall, played six seasons with the team. In those six years, he totaled 3,362 yards and 10 touchdowns on 798 carries (4.2 yards per carry) while catching 284 passes for 2,361 yards and six touchdowns. His son, a receiver out of USC, just finished his college career with a 101-catch, 1,275-yard, 11-touchdown senior season. Pittman Jr. is projected by many as a second-rounder and it’s unclear just how high of a priority a No. 3 receiver is on the team’s priority list this offseason. It, of course, will come down to what happens in free agency. But I think we can all agree it would be pretty cool to see a second-generation Buc take the field at Ray Jay this fall.

Happy Birthday, Chris Godwin!

The Bucs’ leading receiver from the 2019 season just now turned 24 years old. He celebrated a birthday on Thursday and will surely be getting a major payday in the not-so-distant future. In his age 23 season, he caught 86 passes for 1,333 yards and nine touchdowns. Yeah, PAY THE MAN.

The NFL Scouting Combine seems like a good time

This is absolutely a mood. Spending $18 on candy might be frowned upon at any other time, but it’s the NFL Combine. When in Indianapolis, right?

Everyone was coming for Sean Murphy-Bunting on Twitter this week

Sean Murphy-Bunting ran a 4.4-second 40-yard dash (which is surely nothing to hang your head about) and his own teammate is coming after him for it. The 2019 rookie class seems to be pretty tight with each other, so when White decided to chirp, SMB wasn’t having it:

For the record, both guys ran 4.42-second 40s at last year’s Combine, according to their NFL.com draft profiles. So, this might need to be settled this summer during training camp, no?

Jamel Dean, what did Sean Murphy-Bunting do to deserve this?

Now, Murphy-Bunting being jabbed at because of his speed might’ve been bad enough on its own, but that came on top of Jamel Dean—another fellow rookie—having something to say about the former Central Michigan standout’s college hairstyle. Come on, now! We all make bad choices with our hair at one time or another, right? I know I have.

This film breakdown from Dean is actually pretty fun, even aside from the dig at SMB’s hair. The former Auburn cornerback watched college film from the aforementioned Murphy-Bunting, White, Mike Edwards and Anthony Nelson. He had plenty to say about what a beast White was at LSU, then seemed confused as to why Edwards took an interception out of the end zone only to run backward and then forward again before falling down, and made the same Nelson comparison that we’ve been hearing since last April (likening him to Carl Nassib). Good stuff all around.

Buccaneers host second annual Girls Flag Football Preseason Classic

Late this week and leading into the weekend, the Buccaneers hosted the second annual Girls Flag Football Preseason Classic at their practice facility, with the marquee matchup coming Friday night between two defending state champions. In the end, it was Robinson taking down Alonso by a score of 19-13. But of course, it was more about what the week represented. This year’s Preseason Classic featured 57 teams high school teams, which was a 50% increase from last year’s. The matchup between Robinson and Alonso, which was held inside the AdventHealth Training Center, included bands, cheerleaders and a good crowd.

The sport has grown so much over the years, and as a Robinson alum, I’ve seen it firsthand. That program has been special for years, having won state titles in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. And Alonso has won back-to-back titles in 2A. Two of the state’s premier programs getting to come together and battle it out at an event like the Preseason Classic is awesome, and what the Bucs have committed to doing for girls flag football in the area overall has been nothing short of fantastic. This tweet sums it up nicely:

If you feel I missed any great Bucs tweets from the past week, feel free to send them my way! You can catch me on Twitter @BaileyJAdams22. And please, don’t hesitate to let me know what you think of this new weekly feature, even if you think it’s terrible and that we should never do it again.