Todd Bowles comments on Bucs' suspended rookie and reveals his plan to replace him
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got hit with a bit of bad news on Tuesday that they don't receive very often.
Reserve running back Josh Williams has been suspended by the NFL for six games for a violation of the NFL's performance-enhancing substances policy, per multiple outlets.
Bucs rookie running back Josh WIlliams has been suspended for six games without pay for violating the NFL's Performance-Enhancing Substances Policy. He has played in three games this season, with four carries for 11 yards.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) November 11, 2025
Todd Bowles was asked for his thoughts on his suspension after Tampa Bay's practice on Wednesday, and he provided his plan to replace Williams on the depth chart.
Todd Bowles says Owen Wright will replace suspended running back Josh Williams
"It's unfortunate," Bowles said. "You know, a lot of these guys have trainers, and probably don't know what they're taking or anything else like that. I don't know what he did or didn't, and I know the kid, and he's a good young man. He's a very honest young man and forthright. I wish him the best. Obviously, the next man up will be Owen [Wright]. Owen will probably come up, and then we'll go from there and keep it moving."
Williams played for LSU from 2019-2024 and was signed by the Bucs back in May as an undrafted free agent following the 2025 NFL Draft. He made the 53-man roster as the team's fourth running back and has appeared in three games this season (Seattle, New Orleans, and New England). He has totaled 11 rushing yards on 4 carries, all against the Saints.
Wright was with the Baltimore Ravens from 2023-24, where he appeared in one game. He joined the Bucs during training camp in 2025 but was among the cuts to get down to 53 players in August. He joined the team's practice squad in October and was activated for Tampa Bay's game against San Francisco.
Bucky Irving back at practice
Fortunately for Tampa Bay, their depth issues could get put on the back burner if their top running back can make a return soon. Irving was spotted at practice on Wednesday by the media in attendance. Although it was a walkthrough, it's a step forward and progress as he works to get back into the fold for a Bucs offense that needs an element of explosion.
Bowles said that the Bucs won't be in full pads this week, so Irving won't be subjected to any full contact hits on the practice field on his injured shoulder. However, that's obviously something he's going to have to be able to handle without issue before he's cleared to return.
For the time being, it looks like it'll be Rachaad White, Sean Tucker, and Wright to lead the backfield on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.
Steelers’ Pat Freiermuth Opens Up on Career Success Against Bengals
The Pittsburgh Steelers could really use a second pass-catcher to be a bigger part of their passing attack in Week 11. Only D.K. Metcalf has eclipsed the 260-yard mark for the season. In more recent weeks, it’s become too easy for opposing defenses to stop the Steelers attack by just double covering Metcalf.
One pass-catcher who has the talent to play a bigger role is tight end Pat Freiermuth. The good news for the Steelers is Freiermuth has a knack for excelling against the Cincinnati Bengals, who is the next opponent on Pittsburgh’s schedule.
Freiermuth isn’t 100% sure why he has performed so well versus the Bengals in the past. But he gave credit to his father.
“My Dad’s from Cincinnati, so maybe that’s it,” Freiermuth told Heavy Sports in an exclusive interview. “Maybe he’s given me some, like Cincinnati magic or something. I don’t even know. But yeah, maybe that’s it.
“I think they are just one of them teams, and schematically, I think I just play well against them.”
Freiermuth said his dad was a Bengals fan until the day he was drafted. The Steelers tight end has made a career out of carving up his father’s former favorite team.
In nine games against the Bengals, Freiermuth has averaged 5.3 catches and 66.7 receiving yards per contest. He has also scored six touchdowns.
Overall, Freiermuth has 600 receiving yards in his career versus Cincinnati. He doesn’t have more than 199 career receiving yards against any other team in the league.
Mike Tomlin Explains Pat Freiermuth’s Success Against Bengals
During the 2023 season, Freiermuth did post zero receptions in a game against the Bengals. However, he has at least 75 receiving yards or a touchdown in the other eight contests versus Cincinnati in his career.
In Week 7, Freiermuth had his best outing of maybe his entire career in the Queen City. The tight end posted five receptions for 111 yards and scored twice.
Freiermuth doesn’t have more than 33 receiving yards in any other game this season.
On Tuesday, head coach Mike Tomlin chalked up Freiermuth’s success against Cincinnati as more than just fatherly magic.
“They play a lot of zone, or they’ve played a lot of zone, particularly with their previous coordinator, and that’s why he’s had some big games against those guys,” Tomlin told reporters. “There is no secret that Muth has very good zone awareness, and he is a zone killer, and that’s why he’s had some of the games he’s had against those guys.”
Steelers’ Pat Freiermuth Leading Blood Drive
The Steelers would love for Freiermuth to be among the team leaders in receptions and receiving yards in the final seven weeks. Away from the field, the tight end is leading a blood drive to combat blood shortages around the United States.
The global health leader Abbott and the Big Ten Conference created the blood drive campaign called “The We Give Blood Drive.” In its second season, the drive is a competition among all Big Ten schools to see who will donate the most blood. The winning school will receive $1 million from Abbott to advance student and community health initiatives.
The Steelers tight end is campaigning for Big Ten fans, students and alumni to donate blood. He is especially pushing for Penn State students and alumni to make donations.
Freiermuth played at Penn State from 2018-20.
“It’s super big because there’s a blood shortage,” Freiermuth said. “Every two seconds in the United States, people need blood. So this is obviously important.
“With the blood shortage, I’m encouraging people to donate blood.”
Donations will be accepted through December 5. The Big Ten will announce the winning school at the conference’s championship game on December 6.
To sign up to donate blood for a particular school, visit BigTen.Org/Abbott.
