A general view of Tampa Bay Buccaneers helmets against the Kansas City Chiefs. Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Initially-absent Buccaneers star pictured at OTAs during Week 1

Originally posted on Tampa Bay Buccaneers on SI
By River Wells | Last updated Jun 2, 2025 11:01 AM ET

Organized team activities are optional for NFL players, but that doesn't mean players skip every day.

The Bucs had quite a few players show out on Day 1 — Baker Mayfield, Antoine Winfield Jr., Bucky Irving, Yaya Diaby and Calijah Kancey all participated. Some players, though, like Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Lavonte David, Vita Vea, Tristan Wirfs and (controversially) Haason Reddick did not appear on Day 1.

Day 2 and Day 3 were closed to the media, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' official social media account may have given us another tidbit about attendance. The Bucs posted a picture of Mike Evans practicing on social media, which seems to indicate he did end up showing on Day 2 or Day 3 of OTAs.

M1K3 putting in work for the Krewe pic.twitter.com/kNkdnyAnAW
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) May 31, 2025

The Buccaneers will certainly be happy that players of Evans' caliber are working out at OTAs. They may be optional, but OTAs offer a good opportunity for rookies and veterans alike to work on fundamentals and get used to football conditioning — especially in the Tampa Bay heat. Evans likely doesn't need that reminder after playing for the Bucs for over a decade, but he can nonetheless build some chemistry with new Bucs wideouts Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson.

OTAs are set to kick off again on Tuesday, and with media allowed to watch, we'll get to see if some of those other big names have shown up as well.