So maybe it’s not as non-contact as we thought, huh?

When teams go through their voluntary OTA practices it’s just with shirts, shorts and helmets on. There isn’t much contact at all, and that certainly hurts the practice and improvement potential of trench players, both on offense and defense.

But, according to Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston, just because there isn’t suppose to be contact doesn’t mean those guys who live off it aren’t getting a taste.

“Man, [Jensen] and Gerald [McCoy] are already getting into it in practice and we just have helmets on,” Winston said. “So I just love that nasty, grit that Ryan brings. You have to love that out of a center.”

Bucs C Ryan Jensen – Photo by: Getty Images

That little quote, heard on The Blitz on Sirius XM NFL Radio, has to bring a smile to some people’s faces. McCoy is the guy whose been the star of the Buccaneers for a long time and Jensen is the new guy in town, yet neither are afraid to show their true football side to one another.

This isn’t the first time Jensen has become a little feisty with a teammate. Legend has it he got into a bit of a scuffle with defensive tackle Haloti Ngata back when both of them were in Baltimore. Winston went on to explain that he’s seen that kind of mentality from a center before, and it was from an example you’d want to hear.

“My first year I had Logan Mankins, that guy is a Hall of Fame offensive guard,” Winston said. “His grit and his competitiveness, it was infectious among our offense. And it is going to be great to have a guy in the middle of it all that is leading this offensive line with that competitiveness.”

Maybe it is just some minor extra contact, but that’s the kind of attitude the Bucs wanted to bring into the trenches for 2018.

If a new guy can go after a star player already, it’s working.