/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/HFNWXGLC65CM5DMXOQTO25AWQY.jpg "Kansas State wide receiver Kade Warner, the son of former NFL star Kurt Warner, makes a catch during drills at the school's pro day on March 31.")
TAMPA — Bucs fans don’t fondly remember Rams quarterback Kurt Warner throwing a 30-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Proehl with 4:44 remaining in the fourth quarter that beat Tampa Bay 11-6 in the 1999 NFC Championship Game.
But it may be time to let bygones be bygones.
Warner is now one of the biggest Bucs fans.
That’s right, Tampa Bay signed his son, Kansas State receiver Kade Warner, as an undrafted free agent Saturday night.
Kade, who transferred from Nebraska in 2021, had 46 receptions for 456 yards and five touchdowns last season in helping the Wildcats win the Big 12 championship game over TCU.
The Bucs selected eight players in the NFL draft, where they focused on improving the overall team speed, especially on defense. That was a priority for coach Todd Bowles entering the draft.
“Todd obviously said that and that was always a B.A. (Bruce Arians) moniker too: ‘Speed kills, speed, speed, speed,’” said Bucs vice president of player personnel John Spytek. “But, at the end of the day, they’ve got to be good football players, too. We’re not just going to draft guys that run fast, but can’t play the game of sports. ... I think we turned in a lot of guys that ran good 40 times. If you turn on the film and watch the film, they play fast, too. It’s one of the many things we look for, but it was a priority this year and we feel good about what we did from that standpoint.”
The Bucs weren’t done. They spent Saturday night signing undrafted free agents and invited others to rookie minicamp in two weeks.
Other notable undrafted free agents
Syracuse running back Sean Tucker (Rushed for 3,182 yard, 27 TDs; caught 64 passes for 622 yards, 4 TDs)
Maryland WR Rakim Jarrett (Signed with $225,000 guaranteed, including $25,000 signing bonus)
Maryland WR Taye Barber
Illinois State TE Tanner Taula
Shepherd RB Ronnie Brown
Furman WR Ryan Miller
Tennessee MLB Jeremy Banks
UConn LB Brandon Bouyer-Rnadle
Alabama State CB Keenan Isaac
Rutgers S Christian Izien
NC State CB Derek Pitts
Texas State edge rusher Nelson Mbanasor
Iowa State S Kaevon Merriweather
Oklahoma C/G Chris Murray
Virginia OL Silas Dzansi
Indiana T Luke Haggard
Arkansas PK Jake Bates
Duke LS Evan Deckers
Rookie camp invitees
Southeastern/FIU QB Kaylan Wiggins
South Carolina C Eric Douglas
Utah State S Hunter Reynolds
• • •
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