Ezekiel Elliott's playing time expectations may be the reason why the running back remains unsigned.

Skip Peete, running backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who previous held that position with the Cowboys, said that Elliott would be a good fit with the Bucs if he was willing to accept a smaller role and a smaller salary. 

"I think that's part of the reason he's sitting out there," Peete said. "If you're going to play, I mean, you're going to be the second and third guy. That's kind of what the price is. So. that's something that a person has to be able to see that that is what it is going to be." 

Todd Bowles has fulfilled a promise he made to his late mother, Joan, that he would earn his college degree.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach walked across the stage at Mount St. Mary's University on Saturday 37 years after leaving school to enter the NFL.

Bowles missed the second day of Buccaneers rookie camp to attend the ceremony in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where he addressed the graduating class and earned a standing ovation. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in youth and community development.

"This is an amazing, amazing thing for me to be in a class with you," he told the students. "I'm more nervous now than I ever was speaking in a locker room at halftime."

Bowles left Temple University in 1986 to enter the NFL. Joan died of cancer in 2009. Bowles was encouraged by his agent, Tony Agnone, a Mount St. Mary's alumnus, to return to school, and he completed his coursework in September.

"It was personal. It's not a limelight type of deal for me," Bowles said. "It's more or less honoring my mother and making sure I kept a promise that I could live with when she said something. And that's really all it was for me. And showing my kids at the same time -- with one in college, one getting ready to go to college and another one on the horizon -- hopefully they get some inspiration from this and it can help them as they go forward."

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are moving Tristan Wirfs from right tackle to left tackle.

The Buccaneers didn't use a draft pick on a left tackle, paving the way for the move. Wirfs had his fifth-year option picked up, meaning he'll play two seasons on the left side before the possibility of hitting free agency.

"It just sometimes doesn't go the way you want," Buccaneers V.P. of player personnel John Spytek said. "We all would've loved to add tackles, but I don't want to lose enough games every year to be up there where those tackles typically go. We've got guys we feel good with. We've got guys who we know can compete."

Luke Goedeke, a second-round pick in 2022, is likely to become the right tackle for 2023.