Haason Reddick heard the criticism and knew a question about his absence at the Buccaneers’ organized team activities was coming. So, the edge rusher made a preemptive statement following a mandatory minicamp practice.

“I’ll address it before y’all do: I know everybody was concerned about me not showing up at [OTAs], but for me, I definitely made sure to stay in shape,“ Reddick, 30, said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. ”I think I showed that to everybody out here.

“I don’t think it should’ve been a question, but [I] just had some things to button up on as I get ready to make this transition down here so that way, once I get here, I don’t have to worry about [anything] back there at home.”

In 2024, Reddick didn’t show up for six months after the Eagles traded him to the Jets. He missed seven regular-season games before agreeing to an adjusted contract.

After signing a one-year, $14 million deal with the Bucs in March, Reddick went to work with his personal trainer, Kenny Williams, in Philadelphia. He is trying to get back to being a Pro Bowl pass rusher.

Reddick had only one sack and three quarterback hits in 10 games last season, ending his streak of four consecutive double-digit sack seasons. But he doesn’t buy into needing to “regain his reputation” as a top edge rusher.

“Regain my reputation as a premier pass rusher?” Reddick said. “Regain my rep, huh? Let’s just say, I am motivated but not for that type of stuff, right? Like, I don’t care what people think about me, to be honest. People can say whatever they want. That’s your opinion and you’re entitled to it. . . . What you talk about, things like that, as long as I’m in a great place and a safe space and my mental is strong? That’s the only thing that I’m worried about.”

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Last year, Ladd McConkey, Ray Davis and Tarheeb Still were a few of the AFC rookies picked after Day 1 who were key players on their respective teams right away.

In 2023, it was Tank Dell of the Texans, Keeanu Benton of the Steelers, and Colts receiver Josh Downs. 

In 2022, Breece Hall and Dameon Pierce were AFC Day 2 picks who played like first-rounders in Year 1 in the NFL. The season before that, Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith went from somewhat obscure non-Day 1 picks to integral pieces of the Chiefs offensive line as rookies.

In 2020, Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, Steelers receiver Chase Claypool and Patriots guard Michael Onwenu were AFC rookies who weren’t selected on Day 1 of the draft but sure as heck played like Day 1 selections during their debut season. 

And you, NFL fan starved for football, know all about your favorite team’s first-round pick in the 2025 draft. Now it’s time to really get acclimated with the non-Round 1 selection who has the talent — and situation — to flourish as a rookie. 

Earlier this week I ran through who these players can be this season for each NFC team. Below is the AFC edition.

AFC East

Buffalo Bills

Sanders is exactly the interior rusher that’s been missing next to Ed Oliver during the majority of the Sean McDermott era. In this day and age, teams need two disruptive forces on the interior. The Bills had utilized journeymen next to Oliver for years. Now they have an athletic, advanced defensive tackle the opposition will have to involve in the game plan right away. 

At South Carolina, Sanders was routinely in the backfield — for years — thanks to first-step quicks, leverage, and aggressive hand work. He wins on first, second, and third down. I expect Sanders to be an integral part of Buffalo’s defensive line rotation in 2025 and beyond. 

Miami Dolphins

Savaiinaea embodies…

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Jordan Shipp remembers the conversation with his roommates after learning Bill Belichick was North Carolina’s new coach.

“It was just like, ‘That’s the greatest coach of all time,’” the receiver recalled, “‘and he’s about to be coaching us.’”

Belichick’s arrival has triggered plenty of change for the Tar Heels, who are making a big bet on the man who won six Super Bowls as an NFL head coach to spark their football program. No one knows that better than the players — both the holdovers and the transfer-portal arrivals — after months of Belichick overhauling the roster and building the foundation on his first college team.

North Carolina players hadn’t spoken to reporters since last year’s team ended its season with a Fenway Bowl loss to UConn three days after Christmas, all of which came after Belichick had been hired as coach for the 2025 season.

So Tuesday marked the first time UNC had made players available to reporters since then to discuss Belichick’s arrival. That has meant being coached by someone with a long track record of success at the sport’s highest level, along with getting a peek behind the terse and grumpy persona he was known for with the New England Patriots.

Defensive back Will Hardy said the players are used to curiosity that comes with being coached by the NFL lifer now giving college a try.

“There’s a lot of that, you get a lot of ‘How is Coach Belichick? What’s new? What’s different?’” Hardy said. “So I’ve rehearsed these questions a lot with family and friends.”

Formative stages

The school hired Belichick in December to elevate the program at a time when football’s role as the revenue driver in college sports has never been bigger.

He and general manager Michael Lombardi have described their goal as building a pro-style model at the college level. It’s been a key pitch as the 73-year-old Belichick made his first…

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The offseason program is ramping up across the NFL, with teams either in the thick of minicamp or wrapping up OTAs before they enter the mandatory sessions leading up to the summer break. 

While these workouts won’t give us any definitive answers about what’s to come during the 2025 season, they do lay the groundwork for training camp and position battles that may unfold. Believe it or not, this time of the year is centered more around players who are not on the field and holding out for contractual reasons. The Commanders, Bengals and Steelers are all missing key start as they seek contract extensions. 

There’s been no shortage of storylines, and Wednesday was no exception. There was an injury scare to one of the league’s brightest young wide receivers and a health update from a former All-Pro running back as he begins his tenure with a new team. 

To get you caught up on all the latest in the NFL during minicamp, check out our takeaways below. 

Brian Thomas Jr. took the NFL by storm during…

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The Rams have made it clear that they have interest in a potential reunion with cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Now that cornerback Jaire Alexander is available to any team, coach Sean McVay was asked on Tuesday whether the Rams would have interest in the former Packer.

“We haven’t had a lot of those discussions,” McVay told reporters. “There are so many layers to the Jalen conversation. Obviously, with Jaire, a lot of respect for him as a player, haven’t talked about those types of things. Our main focus . . . this will really represent our last OTA day so we’ve kind of just been focused on our group. [G.M.] Les [Snead] and I have had some dialogue and discussions as it relates to the Jalen thing, but there’s really no news to report on. And with Jaire, nothing but respect for the player but I don’t know if that’s a direction that we would go.”

It seems to be a polite way of saying the Rams aren’t interested in Alexander. And they still seem to be interested in Ramsey.

Still, 10 days after the Dolphins acquired the ability to trade Ramsey and spread the cap charge over two years, Ramsey has yet to be traded. Given the deadline-driven realities of the NFL, it’s possible that the Dolphins will wait to do a deal until training camp approaches.

Especially if Ramsey decides to force the issue by showing up and participating — Brett Favre in 2008-style.

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PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles did not have a typical mandatory minicamp like in years past, using an offseason with less than the maximum three mandatory minicamp practices to lighten the workload on the defending Super Bowl champions. Every player was in attendance for the session, as the Eagles quickly exited the building for the summer soon after the 80-minute session was completed. 

This offseason felt shorter due to the lack of OTA practices (Eagles only had six) and the one-practice mandatory minicamp, a small price to pay for players to rest up their bodies and prepare to defend a Super Bowl championship in five-and-a-half weeks. 

There was a few intriguing developments from the practice, including who stood out in the session and who are the early favorites for some of the intriguing camp battles come July. Quite a few players have improved their stock heading into training camp, while others are certainly worth watching late in the summer.

Here were five takeaways from the Eagles’ one and only mandatory minicamp practice, including some standouts from the session. 

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The Bengals have released linebacker Germaine Pratt. He even got the perfunctory “thank you for everything” social-media post.

Pratt has every right to be thinking, “Tanks fer nuttin.”

He asked to be traded on February 12. The Bengals instead squatted on his contract for months, neither trading him nor cutting him.

Releasing Pratt now makes it harder for him to find a suitable landing spot for 2025. It makes it harder for him to replace the $5.25 million he was due to make this year in Cincinnati.

It’s another example of the one-way nature of NFL contracts. The team can tear it up whenever the team wants. The player is stuck.

And the team can wait to cut the player until the player is screwed. It’s all the more reason for players to argue for the inclusion of roster bonuses or guarantees early in the league year. It forces the team to make a decision, and it allows the player who is released to get to the market before cash has been spent and roster spots have been claimed.

For Pratt, the most obvious potential destination is Indianapolis, where former Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anuramo now runs the defense. Still, he would have had more options (and likely would have made more money) if the Bengals had cut him in March.

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