The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are putting Jameis Winston – their rookie quarterback and No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft – on the fast track to success in the NFL. And they're doing it with the help of a little virtual reality.
The Buccaneers announced Monday, July 20, that they'll be using the SIDEKIQ simulator football software system from EON Sports VR when their training camp begins August 1.
"We are excited to be coming in on the front end of this new wave of technology that is designed to supplement the on-field and classroom work that our quarterbacks are already doing," said the team's general manager Jason Licht in a statement, as reported by ESPN.
"Obviously, there is no real substitute for being on the field when it comes to getting our players ready for game action. However, this virtual reality technology allows us to enhance the learning experience for our quarterbacks without requiring them to put in additional time on the practice fields."
The SIDEKIQ simulator is different from the STRIVR Labs virtual reality training system that Tech Times featured last month. The Dallas Cowboys are the only NFL team that has officially signed with that company, but STRIVR Labs CEO Derek Belch said, as of late June, that he has an agreement in principle with two other teams and is waiting on a response from three more franchises.
"We could easily have anywhere from five to 10 NFL teams come training camp time," Belch told Tech Times at the time. "So, that's where we're at."
Like STRIVR, SIDEKIQ simulates football training/game conditions in a virtual reality environment to give players a sense of what they would experience in practices and games.
Don't be surprised when every team in the NFL is using virtual reality training.
