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NFL

Buccaneers TE admits he deserved to be kicked out of practice

By Cameron DaSilva FoxSports
Published | Updated
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Last week, Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Austin Seferian-Jenkins was dismissed from practice by head coach Dirk Koetter. The first-year head coach reportedly told the tight end to "get out of here" and later said Seferian-Jenkins "didn't know what he was doing."

Shortly thereafter, Seferian-Jenkins went on a bit of a Twitter rant, saying things like, "Can't let negative stuff get to u. Let it happen and move on!" in his social media feed.

On Tuesday, the third-year tight end apologized for his performance and lack of preparation for practice. Furthermore, he agreed with Koetter's decision to boot him from practice, saying he was "100 percent right" in doing so.

"We have a certain standard here at One Buc that needs to be upheld, and I didn't uphold my end of the bargain," Seferian-Jenkins said via the team's official website. "And I was asked to leave, and I left, and it completely falls on my shoulders for not being prepared to do what I needed to be doing.

"I'm ready to get to work and I'm ready to hold up the standard I'm capable of, what you expect of me, what the fans expect of me, what the coaches expect of me and what my teammates expect of me. What happened was not okay and it won't happen again."

Seferian-Jenkins continued by saying he stands "right behind" his coach and his decision, while promising to be better prepared in the future.

"I was asked to leave, like I said before, and Coach was 100 percent right in doing what he was doing, and I stand right behind my coach and what he did," he continued. "It's tough. You love the game, and unfortunately I was not prepared. I'm going to be prepared, I'm prepared and I won't let it happen again."

Seferian-Jenkins has a great deal of potential despite posting less-than-stellar numbers. He's caught just 42 passes for 559 yards in his first two seasons. If he gets his mind right and improves his focus, he has a chance to be a real weapon on an offense that features Jameis Winson, Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson.