Last Thursday, Tampa Bay Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht spoke positively about the class of offensive linemen in the upcoming NFL Draft, but also insisted that his team has "a lot of in-house options" for that position. Now they have one more.
On Monday, the Buccaneers signed former Los Angeles Chargers lineman Matt Feiler, who has extensive NFL starting experience and established positional versatility, to a one-year deal. Feiler was released by the Chargers on March 15 after starting 33 games at left guard over the previous two seasons.
Feiler (6-6, 330) has started for multiple seasons at both tackle and guard in the NFL, playing four seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers before signing with the Chargers as an unrestricted free agent in 2021. He has appeared in a total of 78 games, starting 73 of them.
Originally an undrafted free agent out of Bloomsburg with the Houston Texans in 2014, Feiler spent one season on the practice squad in Houston and two in Pittsburgh before making the active roster in 2017 and seeing action in five games with one start. He then started 26 games at right tackle over the next two seasons in Pittsburgh before switching to left guard and making 13 starts in 2020.
Last season, Feiler played every snap for a Chargers offense that ranked ninth in the NFL in total yards, third in passing yards and sixth in sacks allowed per pass play.
Feiler joins an offensive line corps in Tampa that no longer features long-time left tackle Donovan Smith 2022 starting guard Shaq Mason and is likely to see some lineup shuffling in 2023. Center and one of the two tackle spots is likely to be locked down by Ryan Jensen and Tristan Wirfs, respectively, but there will be competition for the other three spots. Among the other candidates to fill out the front line are Luke Goedeke, Robert Hainsey, Aaron Stinnie and Brandon Walton.
