The Bucs were back on the field at the AdventHealth Training Center on Wednesday for their first training camp practice of 2024, and head coach Todd Bowles was happy to talk about a number of his players during his post-practice press conference. But there was one player he had little interest in talking about with the local media: outside linebacker Randy Gregory.

Gregory was placed on the Reserve/Did Not Report list on Tuesday, and he was a no-show for voluntary OTAs and mandatory mini-camp earlier this summer. So, it wasn’t really a surprise when he wasn’t on the field as Tampa Bay started camp on Wednesday. After practice, Bowles had very little to say on the situation with Gregory.

Bucs OLB Randy Gregory – Photo by: USA Today

“We’re going to talk about the players that are here – he’s not here,” Bowles said. “We’ll deal with that internally. Obviously, he’s on the did not report list and we’ll go from there.”

When asked why he wasn’t in camp or if he thought that Gregory might eventually show, Bowles was non-committal.

“I don’t speculate on anything,” Bowles said.

Bowles was asked if he had any indication about Gregory’s wavering commitment to football and the team when he signed him.

“I don’t have any more speculation on Gregory,” Bowles said. “I’m done with the Gregory questions.”

Tampa Bay signed Gregory to a one-year deal back in April, but he has yet to show up to One Buccaneer Place and it’s hard to see a positive end to the whole saga — especially if Todd Bowles and the team haven’t had any contact with the 31-year-old outside linebacker.

Todd Bowles says they don’t talk about the players who aren’t here and won’t speculate on the Randy Gregory situation. Says they’ll deal with it internally. pic.twitter.com/yrYZUHgTDW

— PewterReport 🏴‍☠️ (@PewterReport) July 24, 2024

News broke in June that Randy Gregory was filing a lawsuit against the NFL over claims of discrimination by the league when he was fined over $500,000 last year for taking medicine that had THC in it. The report said Gregory was taking Dronabinol, which is a medicine that treats social anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. While THC is no longer on the NFL’s banned substances list, players are still subjected to fines for positive tests. It is currently unknown whether Gregory’s continued absence is related to the lawsuit.

Tampa Bay was/is set to be Gregory’s fourth team in four seasons, as he spent 2021 with the Cowboys and 2022 with the Broncos before splitting 2023 between the Broncos and 49ers.

Todd Bowles Is OK With The Bucs’ Outside Linebacker Depth

Bucs OLBs coach George Edwards and HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Todd Bowles said that the team has adequate depth at the outside linebacker position and that the team didn’t necessarily feel the need to add another pass rusher to take Gregory’s roster spot. Tampa Bay used a second-round pick on Alabama edge rusher Chris Braswell just a few weeks after Gregory signed a one-year contract on April 4.

“We’ve never had him to begin with,” Bowles said. “He hasn’t been here, so we’ve been okay with the depth that we’ve got. We’ve got some guys that can play and we’re going to get them ready to play.”

Tampa Bay’s outside linebacker room is led by second-year pass rusher Yaya Diaby, and there are veterans behind him in Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Anthony Nelson. There are also a pair of intriguing second-year players in the room in Markees Watts and Jose Ramirez. Then, of course, there’s Braswell, a rookie the team is very high on.

So, Tampa Bay will be fine if Randy Gregory never does report to One Buc Place. Whether there’s a resolution to this whole situation coming any time soon remains to be seen, but it’s clear Todd Bowles is done with questions about it.