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Polly want a sacker: Bucs’ 4th-round draft pick to be delivered by parrot

As part of NFL Draft broadcast, a parrot named Zsa Zsa will deliver Bucs' pick to the pirate ship at Raymond James.
 
Zsa Zsa, a Catalina macaw from the Florida Exotic Bird Sanctuary in Hudson, and her handler, Stephanie Dripps. Zsa Zsa will deliver the Bucs' fourth-round draft pick to an announcer in the pirate ship at Raymond James Stadium as part of the NFL draft's TV coverage on Saturday afternoon.
(FLORIDA EXOTIC BIRD SANCTUARY)
Zsa Zsa, a Catalina macaw from the Florida Exotic Bird Sanctuary in Hudson, and her handler, Stephanie Dripps. Zsa Zsa will deliver the Bucs' fourth-round draft pick to an announcer in the pirate ship at Raymond James Stadium as part of the NFL draft's TV coverage on Saturday afternoon. (FLORIDA EXOTIC BIRD SANCTUARY)
Published April 23, 2018|Updated April 23, 2018

Late-round NFL draft picks are often made on a wing and a prayer.

The Bucs' fourth-round pick Saturday will be no different. The team announced Monday that as part of the NFL draft TV broadcast, the team's fourth-round pick will be delivered to an announcer on the pirate ship at Raymond James Stadium by a parrot.

The parrot is a Catalina macaw named Zsa Zsa and is from the Florida Exotic Bird Sanctuary in Hudson — she'll have help from Stephanie Dripps, a caretaker from the sanctuary. Best we can tell, the bird will not be involved in the selection of the pick, just passing along the news to the pirate ship, and then the world.

When news broke on Twitter on Monday morning, it drew all kinds of reaction, from logistical alarm (what if the bird takes off with the pick and the clock runs out on the Bucs?) to unrelenting wordplay: "Polly want a sacker" and so on. We noted that all late-round picks, by their nature, are flyers.

The Bucs have other guests planned to announce their late-round picks Saturday — the fifth-round pick will come from Lieutenant General C.Q. Brown, who is Deputy Commander for the U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. The sixth-round pick is to be announced by the girls flag football teams from Plant and Robinson high schools, both of which are defending state champions.