TAMPA — The Buccaneers coaching staff can't wait to get a full roster of players back at the team facility. A handful of veterans have been mainstays in the building, but some will be trickling in for the first time next week.
One of those players is safety Jordan Whitehead. He spent his first four NFL seasons with the Bucs before playing the last two with the New York Jets. Tampa Bay brought him back this offseason, and no one was happier than safeties coach Nick Rapone. The team shot a video of Rapone's reaction, which quickly made the rounds on social media.
"That should be confidential," Rapone joked. "[Head coach Tood Bowles] got me. My emotions got the best of me, but when you get somebody like that back in the fold, it’s pretty nice."
Rapone added that Whitehead is another young, impact player in the NFL who is getting better with age.
"Where they improve, is they improve mentally. That’s the biggest thing," he explained. "Because everything slows down for ‘em. He’s seen a lot, and he’s confident in what he can do."
Next week, the spotlight will be on the Buccaneers rookie class. It includes seven draft picks and more than two dozen undrafted free agents.
"Just talking to those free agent guys, their hearts are broken, they’re disappointed. But you got an opportunity," said inside linebackers coach Larry Foote.
He knows first-hand what it's like to watch an undrafted player make an impact in the NFL. His former Pittsburgh Steelers teammate, James Harrison, went from being undrafted to winning a Defensive Player of the Year Award and authoring the longest interception return in Super Bowl history during his 14-year career.
"I always share the story with James Harrison," Foote said when asked what he'll say to the undrafted rookie invitees. "He was cut six times. He wouldn’t have even had a career. A guy- Clark Hagans- broke his hand two days before training camp. They called [Harrison] for a “camp body.” All she wrote, from there."
The four-day rookie minicamp gets underway next Friday morning
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