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Tampa Bay Buccaneers

3 Things to Know About 10 New Bucs

The Buccaneers have added 10 new players since the conclusion of the 2014 season.

The Bucs added 10 new players to their roster since the conclusion of the 2014 season.

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The Buccaneers have been busy since the 2014 season ended. The team has signed 10 players to future contracts, including six players that ended the season on the Bucs' practice squad.

On January 2, the Bucs announced the signing of seven players: S Shelton Johnson, WR Chandler Jones, QB Seth Lobato, DT Matthew Masifilo, T Matt Panchan, CB Jocquel Skinner and G Jeremiah Warren.

The team added three more on January 5: S M.D. Jennings, TE Taylor Sloat and P Chase Tenpenny.

Jennings is perhaps the biggest signing of the brief offseason, having seen time as a starter with the Green Bay Packers.

Did you know that Patchan and Skinner call the Tampa Bay area home? Or that Jennings finished among the top five academically in his class when he was in high school? Below are three things to know about each of the Buccaneers' new signings:

S M.D. JenningsCollege: Arkansas StateExperience: 4Height/ weight: 6-0, 187
1. Jennings was undrafted in 2011 and played his first three seasons with the Packers.

  1. He graduated No. 5 in his class in Calhoun City High School in Greneda, Mississippi. He also earned the United States National Minority Leadership award as a senior.
  1. Jennings was on the wrong side of the infamous 'Fail Mary' play between the Packers and Sehawks in 2012.
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WR Chandler JonesCollege: San Jose StateExperience: 1Height/ weight: 5-9, 1801. Jones went undrafted in 2014. He was on the Browns and Colts before signing with the Buccaneers' practice squad on Dec. 19.

  1. He has no career stats and has not appeared in any regular season games.
  1. Jones is San Jose State's all-time leader in receptions (248), touchdown receptions (29) and receiving yards (3,087).
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T Matt PatchanCollege: Boston CollegeExperience: 1Height/ weight: 6-7, 3001. Patchan was signed by the Buccaneers as a undrafted free agent shortly after the 2014 draft. He was waived/ injured at the conclusion of training camp and re-signed to the team's practice squad in early November.

  1. He is a Tampa native. He graduated from Armwood High School in Tampa in 2007, where he was a first-team All-American offensive lineman.
  1. Patchan played his first five seasons of his collegiate career at the Univeristy of Florida but was granted a sixth season of eligibility because of time he missed due to injuries. He followed offensive line coach Steve Addazio to Boston College for his final season.
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QB Seth LobatoCollege: Northern ColoradoExperience: 1Height/ weight: 6-6, 2231. Lobato signed with the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in May of 2014. He was waived by the team in June but was re-signed prior to the start of training camp, just to be cut again at the camp's conclusion. He was signed to the Dolphins' practice squad in September and let go almost two months later.

  1. As a senior at Northern Colorado in 2013, Lobato threw for 2,741 yards and 34 touchdowns, both Big Sky Conference records. He was intercepted just four times that season.
  1. He was a four-year letter-winner on the basketball court at Eaton High School and led his team to the Colorado state title in 2007. He was also named the state tournament's Most Valuable Player that season.
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S Shelton JohnsonCollege: WisconsinExperience: 2Height/ weight: 6-0, 1951. Johnson was signed by the Buccaneers in the final week of the 2014 season. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Raiders in 2013 and spent the first 13 games of the season on the team's practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster for the final four games of 2013 and recorded four tackles and recovered a fumble.

  1. He recorded 125 tackles, four interceptions and forced a fumble in three seasons at Wisconsin. All four of his interceptions came as a junior in 2011.
  1. Johnson was ranked the No. 31 safety in the state of Texas in 2008. He had 65 tackles, three interceptions and a sack as a senior. He was recruited by Kansas, Louisville and Utah, among other schools, before choosing Wisconsin.
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TE Taylor SloatCollege: Cal-DavisExperience: 1Height/ weight: 6-4, 245

  1. Sloat was signed to the Bucs' practice squad in early October but was released a week later. He was re-signed in late November and released after a month.
  1. He was only a full-time, starting tight end for one season in college. He appeared in 11 games for UC-Davis in 2013 with 10 starts. He finished second on the team in receiving yards as a senior with 428.
  1. Sloat was a dominant high school quarterback. He threw for 1,751 yards as a senior in 2009 with 19 touchdowns and ran for an additional 459 yards.
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P Chase TenpennyCollege: NevadaExperience: 1Height/ weight: 6-3, 252

  1. Tenpenny was signed by the Chargers as an undrafted free agent in May of 2014 and was released at the end of the team's training camp.
  1. Before enrolling at Nevada, he competed for Fort Scott Community College, a national powerhouse in Kansas and the same junior college Lavonte David attended. Tenpenny was a first-team junior college All-American in 2010.
  1. He earned 12 varsity letters in high school: four in football, four in track, three in basketball and one in baseball.
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DT Matthew MasifiloCollege: StanfordExperience: 3Height/ weight: 6-3, 2801. Masifilo entered the league with the 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He was signed to the Bucs' active roster off the 49ers' practice squad in November of that same season and would finish out 2012 on the active roster. He spent the first 15 games of 2013 on the Bucs' practice squad before being promoted to the active roster on December 21. He has been on and off the Bucs' practice squad for portions of 2014.

  1. He was a starter for three years at Stanford and played in games all four seasons after redshirting. During his redshirt season in 2008 he was one of three recipients of the Greg Piers award, which is given to the team's top scout team player.
  1. Masifilo is originally from Hawaii. He was a PrepStar All-American for Campbell High School and was rated the seventh-best defensive lineman in the country as a senior.
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G Jeremiah WarrenCollege: South FloridaExperience: 3Height/ weight: 6-3, 3251. Warren was signed by the Patriots in 2012 after going undrafted. He played with the Cardinals, Saints and Browns before the Buccaneers picked him up off waivers prior to the start of the 2014 season. He was waived three days after being claimed but was re-signed to the practice squad in November.

  1. He started every game in his final three years of college and was a second-team All-Big East selection as a senior.
  1. He earned 10 varsity letters in high school between football, wrestling and track. He was 32-0 as a senior on the wrestling mat and finished sixth in the state of Florida as a junior.
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CB Jocquel SkinnerCollege: BethelExperience: 1Height/ weight: 6-1, 1821. He was signed by the Cowboys in the spring of 2014 after going undrafted.

  1. Skinner's five interceptions in 2012 are tied for fifth-most in Bethel University history. He had four interceptions in 2011, tied for sixth-most.
  1. He is originally from St. Petersburg and competed for Boca Ciega high school as a wide receiver and defensive back.
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