HBO's 'Hard Knocks' Will Feature Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ahead of 2017 Season

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be the featured team on HBO's Hard Knocks this summer for the first time. 

Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times first reported Tuesday that "all indications" were the Buccaneers were chosen as the NFL team to be documented on the HBO and NFL Films series in 2017. 

HBO confirmed the Buccaneers would be the featured team this year, and the season premiere will air on August 8. 

The Buccaneers celebrated the Hard Knocks announcement on Twitter:

Quarterback Jameis Winston discussed being featured on Hard Knocks when it was still in the rumor phase on Monday, per Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times:

Under the rules established in 2013, the Buccaneers were one of eight teams eligible to be chosen on Hard Knocks this year. The New Orleans Saints, Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles and Tennessee Titans were the others. 

Even though the NFL still asks teams to volunteer to appear on the show, in the event no one steps forward, the league chooses from a pool of franchises excluding those with a first-year head coach, those that made the playoffs at least once in the previous two years and those that have been on Hard Knocks in the past 10 seasons.

The show first started in 2001, following the Ravens around training camp as they prepared to defend their Super Bowl title. After a four-year hiatus from 2003-06, the show has been a summer staple with the exception of the 2011 season due to the lockout situation. 

An NFL Films documentary crew follows a team around over the course of five weeks and is given full access to meeting rooms, training rooms, team hotel rooms and practice fields. 

Hard Knocks shows the inner-workings of an NFL training camp, with previous seasons showing players being released or cut as teams try to get their roster down to 53 before Week 1. 

The Buccaneers boast an array of good young talent, including Winston and wide receiver Mike Evans, along with the arrival of free-agent wide receiver DeSean Jackson. They are coming off a 9-7 season in 2016, their first winning record since 2010.