Though their season isn’t quite going as planned, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were still technically buyers at the 2024 NBA trade deadline, adding 2019 draftee Mike Edwards to their defensive backfield for the low-low price of free after he was released by the Tenessee Titans and Buffalo Bills in the month of November.
On paper, the addition was about as close to low risk as any deal in the NFL can be, as they didn’t have to surrender anything but a waiver claim and a roster spot and didn’t even technically need a starting safety, considering they already employed Antoine Winfield Jr. and Jordan Whitehead. But when Todd Bowles saw he was available, as he explained to reporters on Monday, he knew the timing was right for a reunion.
“First and foremost, just from a communication standpoint, he made a lot of plays in this league for us,” Bowles told reporters. “I don’t know the details of why he was a free agent, but we [were] able to get him back, and we look forward to him jumping in and helping out the young guys.”
Though he hasn’t been back to Tampa Bay as anything but an opposing player since all the way back in 2022, he did have four years of experience playing for Bowles from 2019-22. While only time will tell what role he plays for the Buccaneers moving forward, it’s clear Edwards is excited about the opportunity to play in Tampa Bay once more, especially after his run in Tenessee came to an end after a week without so much as a stat to his name.
Mike Edwards is excited to return to the Buccaneers
Discussing the Buccaneers’ decision to claim him off of waivers heading into Week 11, Edwards noted that he’s long remained a fan of Tampa Bay and now sees a perfect chance to help them win games down the stretch.
“Hopefully I can bring a spark or whatever it may need, bring any type of help that I can bring to this team. I mean, not just defense, but the whole team, and yeah, they had struggles, but they also had some great parts of the season. It might be a play away from winning any one of those games,” Edwards told reporters.
“I’ve been keeping up with them from afar, watching some games, stuff like that, so I mean [they’re] still a good team. The record might not show, but still a good team, [they] have players all over on both sides of the ball and [we] have to get a good playoff push and take it week by week, but I mean, just from what I’ve seen from afar and coming in and viewing, it’s a good team. [They] have a lot of guys, very good teammates and very good people that I can see in the locker room, so happy to be a part of that, and hopefully, I can help in any way possible.”
With two Super Bowls on his resume and experience for some of the better teams in the NFL, Edwards returns to Tampa Bay with a wealth of new experience to shake and an innate understanding of how to win games. While only time will tell what role he ends up playing for the Buccaneers in 2024, it’s clear the team is better off for his inclusion.
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