TAMPA, Fla. — If all goes according to Bucs head coach Bruce Arians’ projections, his starters will log plenty of solid, physical, situational work against the Titans later this week.
It just won’t occur in Saturday’s preseason game against those same Titans at Raymond James Stadium.
The Titans arrive in town for a pair of joint workouts with the Bucs on Wednesday and Thursday. For Arians, the live intensity in those sessions will be plenty for his first-teamers — Tom Brady included — against a quality foe for one week.
“I think looking at the two practices, as good as I know how they’ll go physicality-wise, we probably won’t play any starters (Saturday night),” Arians said.
The lone exception could be the banged-up offensive line, which is struggling with a depth issue.
Center Robert Hainsey, the team’s third-round draft pick, has been sidelined with an undisclosed injury for two weeks; and fellow rookie Sadarius Hutcherson was placed on injured reserve Monday with a severe knee injury sustained in Saturday night’s 19-14 preseason loss to the Bengals.
“We’re going to work somebody out (Tuesday) morning and hopefully find another fresh body that can play in this ballgame,” Arians said. “I don’t really want to put starters back in — or put them in at all — if I don’t have to. The offensive line might play in this game, if only by necessity, and we’ll see how that goes.”
The preseason finale in Houston, however, could be a different story. Arians indicated that Aug. 28 contest could resemble the third preseason game of past years, when starters logged their most significant exhibition action.
“My plan right now is to play a significant amount in that ballgame because we don’t play for two weeks after,” said Arians, whose team opens the 2021 season Sept. 9 at home against the Cowboys.
“I know our guys don’t want to hit each other for 10 days, so yeah, we’ll probably play more in that game than any.”
