The Tampa Bay Buccaneers brought in former Indianapolis Colts kicker Rodrigo Blankenship for a tryout earlier in the week. Now, they have signed him to a deal, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
‘The #Bucs are, in fact, signing Rodrigo Blankenship, source said.'
Blankenship spent time with the Colts in 2022 before joining the Arizona Cardinals for a brief stint, and he was a free agent until the Buccaneers decided to ink him to a contract. Blankenship was in recovery after having surgery to repair a torn leg muscle, and there were a few teams interested in the kicker.
Article Continues BelowHe played in all 16 games for the Colts in 2020, going 32-37 on field goals and 43-45 on extra points. He then suffered injuries in 2021 and appeared in just five games before sustaining more injuries in 2022. This past season, he went 4-5 on field goals and extra points in just three games.
While Blankenship was at his tryout with Tampa Bay, Baker Mayfield uttered, “I still don't like you” to the kicker. Of course, the two had a history in college, with Georgia defeating Mayfield and Oklahoma in the 2018 Rose Bowl. We can only imagine Mayfield was joking around, although you can't fault him for some bitterness from that game.
Rodrigo Blankenship now joins Buccaneers punter Jake Camarda, another former Georgia Bulldogs standout, so Mayfield might have a bone to pick with both of these special teams players. Nonetheless, Tampa Bay seemed to have found their next kicker after veteran Ryan Succop was released in March.