Michael Husted was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' kicker from 1993-98. Now a player Husted helped get closer to realizing his NFL dream will compete to be the Buccaneers' kicker in 2019.
On Thursday, the Buccaneers signed Phillip Andersen, a Danish kicker who showed off his skills in the Husted Kicking Pro Camp in Mobile Alabama during Senior Bowl week in January. Andersen most recently kicked for the Berlin Rebels of the German Football League and has also played for the Amager Demons, Herlev Rebels and Søllerød Gold Diggers of the Danish American Football Federation, as well as the Berlin Eagles of the GFL. The GFL is the highest level of American football in Germany.
Andersen (5-11, 208) helped the Eagles win the Eurobowl in 2014 and was a member of the Danish national team that advanced to the European Championship final. He began playing professionally in 2012 and has seen work as both a placekicker and a punter. The Buccaneers signed Andersen as a placekicker, and he is currently the only player at that position who has a contract with the team for 2019. Cairo Santos, who solidified the Buccaneers' kicking situation after replacing Chandler Catanzaro at midseason in 2018, would become an unrestricted free agent on March 13 if his not re-signed prior to that date.
Andersen has actually qualified for Husted's camp each of the last four years. The camp provides instruction from a variety of coaches, some like Husted with NFL experience, and perhaps more importantly offers exposure to NFL coaches and scouts by coinciding with the Senior Bowl. The Buccaneers signed Andersen after bringing him to Tampa for a workout of their own.
