As free-agent guard Richie Incognito closes in on joining the Buccaneers, some of the current members of the team have made it clear that the past won’t be used against the man at the center of the Jonathan Martin bullying scandal.
“I think some of the older guys would have something to say to him. It wouldn’t be negative or anything like that,” center Evan Dietrich-Smith said, via JoeBucsFan.com. “I don’t think they would let the man in the locker room if they felt that it wasn’t going to be a good fit.”
But what of Incognito’s baggage?
“This is the NFL,” Dietrich-Smith said. “Everyone has baggage.”
Incognito’s baggage sweeps more broadly than bullying. His conduct included the use of a racial slur.
“Everybody deserves a second chance at life,” tackle Demar Dotson said. “I think that this is his second chance.” As to Incognito’s racial slur, Dotson says he’ll be “hoping that’s not how [Incognito feels] inside.”
What the Buccaneers feel inside and outside is that they need a better offensive line. Baggage or not, Incognito will give them that.