Kentrell Brice has a new home. The third-year safety has signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team announced on Monday.
We've signed S Kentrell Brice to a one-year deal.
📰 » https://t.co/hBJ8XoB2nd pic.twitter.com/cEYbU2pvo3
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) March 18, 2019
The Green Bay Packers, with whom Brice had spent the entirety of his NFL career, had the option to place a tender on him, but ultimately elected against doing so likely due in part to his status as an undrafted free agent. If he had signed with another team, the Packers' resulting compensation would have been of little meaningful value.
Brice started a career-high 10 games and appeared in 14 games for Green Bay last season while battling several nagging injuries. He finished the season with 50 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, two passes defensed, and no interceptions.
Those subpar numbers, unfortunately for Brice, fail to accurately convey just how damaging he was to the Packers’ defense in 2018. Pro Football Focus rated Brice as the league’s 87th-best of the 93 safeties who logged at least 300 snaps last season.
At 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds, Brice is somewhat undersized for a safety, and hasn’t compensated by showing high-level understanding or skills in coverage.
He's unlikely to be earmarked as a starter with the Buccaneers, who return incumbent starters Justin Evans and Jordan Whitehead at safety, but should prove valuable nonetheless as depth in the defensive backfield and a frequent special teams performer.
Part-time starter Andrew Adams signed with the Detroit Lions last week, while veteran safety Chris Conte and midseason signee Josh Shaw, who also played with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2018, remain on the unrestricted free agent market.
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