Four years into a career season under Todd Bowles in Tampa Bay, Carl Nassib is back with the Buccaneers, signing a one-year contract with the team on Monday. as reported by ESPN. The 29-year-old pass thrower, who has spent the past two seasons with the Raiders, has been a free agent since his release in March. Now reunited with Bowles, Nassib is poised to provide defensive depth for the defending NFC South champions, who kick off their 2022 season in less than a month.
Originally a third-round draft pick of the Browns in 2016, Nassib had his best seasons as a point guard with the Buccaneers, starting 17 games as a defensive end and outside linebacker from 2018 to 2019. fact, it was his production in Tampa Bay — two consecutive seasons with at least six sacks, eight tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hits — that primarily fueled the three-year, $25 million contract he secured. of the Raiders in 2020 for free agency.
Nassib was more limited in his two years in Las Vegas, totaling just four sacks in 27 games. Off the field, he captured national attention ahead of the 2021 campaign when he became the first active NFL player to publicly identify as gay.
The veteran features to compete for a reserve role in the Buccaneers outside linebacker rotation. Shaquil Barrett and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka are locked in as starting setters for Bowles’ team, but backup Cam Gill, who had a sack in Tampa Bay’s preseason opener, is now struggling with a foot injury that forced him out of that game early.