New Buc LB Rich Glover is the son of a former NFL player
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offseason roster has reached maximum capacity…finally.
On Wednesday, the Buccaneers announced the signing of rookie linebacker Richard Glover, an undrafted free agent from New Mexico State University. Glover becomes the 102nd player on the team's bloated offseason roster, meaning he is the last player the club can sign without releasing someone else.
NFL teams are allowed 80 players on the roster during the offseason months and at the start of training camp. However, all 32 teams routinely earn roster exemptions through the allocation of players to the NFL Europe League; the Bucs are using 10 such exemptions. Also, players drafted in April do not count against the 80-man limit until they are signed; they may participate in offseason work but cannot report to camp until they have reached contract agreement. With 12 unsigned picks at the moment, the Bucs can employ up to 102 players at the moment.
Glover is also the seventh player signed by the Buccaneers out of the 20 rookies and first-year men it invited to its rookie mini-camp on tryout contracts. Those 20 competed for three days (April 29-May 1) alongside the team's draft picks and previously-signed rookies and first-year players.
Since that camp, the Bucs have gone back to that list repeatedly. Tackle Kevin Fischer, running back Derek Watson and cornerbacks Carlos Campbell and James Patrick were retained immediately after the camp. Later in the following week, the Bucs brought back quarterback Jared Allen, and two weeks ago they signed running back Jacque Lewis.
Glover will try to become a second-generation NFL player. His father, also Rich Glover, was a defensive end who played one season with the New York Giants (1973) and one with Philadelphia (1975) after being drafted by the Giants in the third round. The elder Glover, formerly a coach at New Mexico State, also has an interesting connection with Tampa Bay's defensive coordinator, Monte Kiffin. Glover was a standout player at Nebraska from 1969-72, right in the middle of Kiffin's 11-year stint (1966-76) as a coach for the Cornhuskers.
After a redshirt 2001 season, Glover started his last three years at NMSU and recorded 247 tackles, one sack, 11 tackles for loss, five forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, four interceptions and eight passes defensed. Last fall, in 11 games, he contributed 80 tackles, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Glover's junior season included 72 tackles, one sack, two interceptions and four passes defensed.
The 5-11, 232-pound Glover hails from Las Cruces, New Mexico.
