Quarterback Dan Orlovsky and cornerback Eric Wright have new deals in place with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the 2013 season.
Orlovsky was briefly a free agent after being released last Thursday but agreed on Tuesday to a new contract after spending the 2012 season as Josh Freeman's backup. Wright, who originally signed with the Buccaneers as an unrestricted free agent last March, has agreed to a restructured deal for 2013.
Orlovsky has appeared in 22 regular-season games with 12 starts over eight seasons in Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis and Tampa. He originally entered the league as a fifth-round draft pick (145th overall) by the Lions in 2005. His career totals include 276 completions in 472 attempts (58.3%) for 2,931 yards, 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
The majority of Orlovsky's numbers come from two seasons in which he spent a significant amount of time as a starter: 2008 in Detroit and 2011 in Indianapolis. In 2008, he started seven games for the Lions and threw for a career-high 1,616 yards and eight touchdowns. In 2011, he was the most effective of several quarterbacks the Colts used in the wake of Peyton Manning's season-ending neck surgery. Orlovsky started the last five games of the season and led Indianapolis to its only two wins, compiling an 82.6 passer rating in the process. After signing with the Buccaneers last March, he got into one game for the Buccaneers during the 2012 regular season, completing four of seven passes for 51 yards in New Orleans in Week 15. During the preseason, he hit on 15 of 20 passes (75.0%) for 150 yards, one touchdown, one interception and a team-leading 91.7 passer rating.
Originally a second-round pick by the Browns (#53 overall) in 2007, the 5-10, 190-pound Wright has played in 85 games with 81 starts over six NFL seasons and has never started fewer than 10 games in any campaign. He has totaled 363 tackles, including, 14 interceptions, one sack, three forced fumbles and 69 passes defensed in his career.
Wright started all 10 games in which he played for Tampa Bay last fall, finishing with 39 tackles, one interception returned 60 yards for a touchdown, eight passes defensed and one fumble recovery. With Detroit in 2011, he started all 16 games, tied his career high with four interceptions and set a new single-season standard with 16 passes defensed while helping the Lions make their first playoff appearance since 1999.
