The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made a habit of signing former college superstars to their ranks and today’s signing continued that trend.
According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the Bucs are signing free agent kicker Rodrigo Blankenship to a deal. Blankenship recently worked out for the Bucs after spending the entire offseason without a team.
Blankenship is most famous for two things: His record-setting career as a kicker for the Georgia Bulldogs and his signature thick-framed glasses.
In four seasons at Georgia, Blankenship made 80 of 97 field goals (82.5-percent) and was a perfect 200 for 200 on extra points. He was a two-time All-SEC selection and the Lou Groza award winner in 2019.
The #Bucs are, in fact, signing Rodrigo Blankenship, source said. https://t.co/d8Ze1Jti0E
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 15, 2023
However, Rodrigo Blankenship’s college stardom didn’t earn him the rare honor of going drafted as a kicker. He signed as a UDFA with the Indianapolis Colts in 2020 and looked solid as a rookie, converting 86.5-percent of his field goals and 43 of 45 extra points.
But injuries limited Blankenship to five games in 2021 and after a rough start to the 2022 season, he was waived. He caught on with the Arizona Cardinals and kicked in two games for them but was waived with an injury settlement in November.
Will Blankenship regain his form with the Bucs this coming year?