The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 2024 season didn’t end as they had hoped. After battling adversity all season, from a midseason slump to injuries, the Bucs did just enough to win the NFC South for a fourth successive season. Still, their playoff run hopes were quickly dashed as they were knocked out by the Washington Commanders and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels in the Wild Card.

While the uneasy feeling of a season-ending is still fresh on the minds of all Buccaneers, Tampa Bay’s offensive guard, Cody Mauch, will be feeling it a bit more, as he has been slapped with two fines from the NFL’s Gameday Accountability initiative that aims to “protect players from unnecessary risk and preserve competitive balance and game integrity.”

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Mauch’s first fine came in the Buccaneers’ Week 18 win over the New Orleans Saints, for which he was fined $9,451 for unnecessary roughness (striking/kicking/kneeing) during the third quarter. His second such penalty that Mauch was hit with came in the team’s Wild Card loss to the Commanders in which he was subjected to another $9,451 for a chop block that occurred during the second quarter.

The Bucs weren’t one of the worst teams when it came to penalties this season but it did seem that they would occur at the most inopportune times, especially later in the season. Self-harming mistakes cost the Bucs a lot this season and will be a point of emphasis heading into the offseason.

Mauch was the most improved player this season for the Buccaneers, as the media and head coach Todd Bowles have pointed out. However, having lapses such as these can end up costing the team more in a game than just being hit with a fee after the fact. Mauch’s improvement was fantastic to see but everyone will be looking to see if he can take another step this upcoming season to eliminate things such as this.