Buccaneers obviously made the right choice by cutting Deven Thompkins during OTAs

It was an interesting explanation, considering the Bucs had an extra roster spot available when they cut Thompkins. Per the team's website, the team had 90 rostered players at the time, but offensive lineman Lorenz Metz is part of the International Pathway Program, therefore, he doesn't count toward the 90-man roster, currently.

Meaning, the Bucs had an extra roster spot, at the time. They didn't have to cut Thompkins in order to create space for another body. Now, they have 88 rostered players.

On Wednesday, Thompkins' wife, Mariah Castilhos released a video on TikTok accusing him of beating her on Valentine's Day in 2023.

Thompkins denies the allegations and his attorney, Brett R. Gallaway, released a statement explaining his client's side of things.

"First and foremost, Deven categorically denies the allegations levied against him by his estranged wife, Maria Castilhos,” Gallaway said in the statement, via the Tampa Bay Times. “Unfortunately, Deven and Maria have been going through a contentious divorce proceeding and child custody battle, and it appears that she thought it would help her case to release these false and defamatory videos. What she fails to mention on TikTok and other social media posts are her written admissions of ‘blackmail’ in connection with demands that Deven pay her increased alimony and other payments.

"Clear and significant exculpatory evidence exists to show that Deven did not physically or in any other way abuse Maria.”

Gallaway also added that Thompkins is “disappointed the club released him before more facts became available”, which certainly makes it seem like the situation played a role in the team's decision.

And it should have. These are serious allegations that should not be taken lightly. Especially in this day and age, where domestic abuse is something that cannot be overlooked like it once was.

The NFL, as an entity may still lag when it comes to overall punishment, but more and more teams are taking the right course of action by parting ways with these guys, regardless of what's been proven true or untrue in a court of law.

The Detroit Lions released Cameron Sutton after his domestic abuse allegations and his decision to go on the lam. That has since been knocked down to a misdemeanor because Sutton was able to use a pretrial diversion and the Pittsburgh Steelers have since re-signed him, but going through a pretrial diversion program typically yields a conduct detrimental to the league punishment, which comes with a six-game suspension. The Washington Commanders, most recently, released veteran kicker Brandon McManus because of allegations that he committed sexual assault in London while he was a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars during the 2023 season.

Neither of those cases are resolved, but the respective teams made the right call by cutting ties once the allegations came out. Sure there's always a chance of nefarious motives on the other side, but until that's proven true or until a guy's name is fully cleared (unlike Sutton's case, which is a completely different story), teams just need to cut ties and stay out of things until they're resolved.

And even then, it's debatable whether or not the door should remain open. If something like this happens once, it can happen again. Case in point: Von Miller turning himself for domestic assault in 2023. He was investigated for it in 2021, but was not charged. Still, the point remains: a pattern can develop.

It obviously remains to be seen when it comes to what happens, but it's also obvious the Bucs made the right call, here, and they need to make this their MO, in this context, moving forward.