ARLINGTON, Texas — Vincent Testaverde Jr. had been sacked twice and ran for his life much of Thursday’s 17-15 win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Once again, the Bucs quarterback was being pursued and was wrapped up in a crushing embrace.
Outside the visiting locker room, the dad hugged his son and said he was proud of him and he loved him.
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‘"Pretty cool,'’ Testaverde said. "I’m just happy to have my first NFL opportunity whatever team it was. It being my rookie year with the Bucs and his rookie year with the Bucs, that’s pretty cool.''
Testaverde’s dad, Vinny, watched the game from a suite at AT&T stadium. Thirty-two years earlier, the No. 1 pick in the 1987 draft had made his debut for the Bucs.
It was a lot more nerve-wracking Thursday, he said, than if he had played in the game.
Testaverde went only 4 of 8 passing for 41 yards with an interception. He had a touchdown pass called back due to a penalty. But he led his team to 10 points on a pair of drives Friday.
"They kept it pretty simple,'' Testaverde said. "I was in camp two and half weeks earlier, so I kind of remembered a chunk of stuff and a lot of those were in this week’s game plan so that helped me out a lot. But I was with Jameis (Winston) and (Ryan) Griffin all week just studying, studying, studying, making sure they knew that I knew what was going on. So, they were a big part of tonight’s performance.''
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Testaverde began the night by missing badly on his first two passes, including an interception.
"Describing the whole night, shaky at first but I thought I bounced back. I felt I did a lot of good things. I made some mistakes but it’s just some stuff to learn from and some stuff to build off. But at the end of the day, we won. I can’t complain. I’m happy.''
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Explore all your optionsThe former Jesuit star took a long road to the NFL. He played at Texas Tech, Miami and finally Albany before being invited to a rookie tryout camp. The Bucs thought enough of him to add Testaverde to the training camp roster. But he was released a couple weeks ago until backup Blaine Gabbert suffered a dislocated left shoulder last Friday against Miami.
"The coaches, after I was in, told me I did a really, really good job,'' Testaverde, Jr., said. "They were happy with the way I handled myself and went about playing the game. That definitely helped me feel great.''
It’s unlikely Testaverde will make the Bucs’ 53-man roster. He may not be added to the practice squad.
"If it’s my last one, it’s my last one,'' Testaverde, Jr., said. "I’m not living with any regrets. I’m leaving the field knowing I did all I could.''
Contact Rick Stroud at rstroud@tampabay.com. Follow @NFLStroud