The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed nine players during the first five days of unrestricted free agency, pumping up the offense with the likes of quarterback Josh McCown and tackle Anthony Collins and upgrading the defense with defensive end Michael Johnson, cornerback Alterraun Verner and others. On Tuesday, the Buccaneers added a player who could eventually help in the third phase of the game, special teams.
The newest Buccaneer is long-snapper Jeremy Cain, who has played in 83 NFL games for the Chicago Bears, Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars. After four full seasons as as the Jaguars' snapper (2009-12), Cain played in two games for the Bears last fall, filling in for an injured Patrick Mannelly.
Andrew Economos has handled Tampa Bay's long-snapping duties for most of the past seven seasons, but Economos is currently an unrestricted free agent. The Buccaneers also have long-snapper Patrick Scales on the roster, though Scales has yet to appear in a regular-season NFL contest.
The 6-1, 238-pound Cain first played in an NFL game with the Bears in 2004, Lovie Smith's first year at the helm in Chicago. He saw action in eight games during the '04-05 campaigns in Chicago and then played in eight contests for Tennessee in 2007 before catching on in Jacksonville in '09.
A native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Cain played linebacker at the University of Massachusetts, where he was a three-year starter and a two-time All-American (2002, 2003). He finished his career with 363 tackles.
