After re-signing Jamel Dean and Anthony Nelson and reportedly getting a deal done with Lavonte David, General Manager Jason Licht said the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would continue to restock the 2023 roster through "reasonable" moves. Bringing back two players – defensive lineman Patrick O'Connor and outside linebacker Cam Gill – who have been productive in limited or specialized roles, fits the bill.
The Buccaneers announced both of those moves on Monday, late in the first week of free agency. O'Connor had become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday at the start of the new league year; Gill had also become a free agent after the team chose not to extend the qualifying offer that would have made him a restricted free agent. Both players agreed to one-year deals.
O'Connor has been one of the Buccaneers' most active special teams players over the past four seasons. In 2022, he was on the field for 279 special teams snaps (60.7% of the total), second only to Dee Delaney's 303 plays. In 2021, despite landing on injured reserve with three games left in the season, O'Connor logged a team-high 344 snaps on special teams.
O'Connor also played 97 snaps on defense last year, contributing five tackles, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit.
Gill spent the entire 2022 season on injured reserve after suffering a Lisfranc injury in his right foot in the preseason opener. Prior to his mishap, he had been projected to be in the Bucs' four-man outside linebacker rotation prior to the injury after seeing an uptick in defensive snaps in 2021.
Gill made the Buccaneers' 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent in 2020 and memorably notched his first sack in Super Bowl LV, sharing one with Ndamukong Suh. He made the roster again in 2021 and was on the field for 100 defensive snaps, notching 1.5 sacks to go with 11 tackles and three quarterback hits. He notched 77 of his snaps on defense in the final three weeks of the regular season, then contributed three tackles in two postseason contests.
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