The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defense won't be lacking for size up front in 2017.
On Saturday, shortly after introducing 320-pound defensive tackle Chris Baker as one of the newest Buccaneers, the team also confirmed that it had re-signed 345-pound defensive tackle Sealver Siliga. Siliga, who joined the team last Nov. 16 as a waiver claim and then played in six games, had become an unrestricted free agent on Thursday. Siliga and the Buccaneers agreed on a one-year contract.
Siliga first entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Utah with the San Francisco 49ers in 2011, but he got his first opportunity to play with Denver the following year. The Broncos traded him to Seattle the following summer, but after a brief stint on the Seahawks' practice squad he ended up in New England, first on the practice squad and then on the active roster in 2013.
From 2013-15, Siliga played in 25 games with 13 starts for the Patriots and recorded 95 tackles and 5.5 sacks. He started Super Bowl XLIX for New England, as the Patriots defeated Seattle, 28-24. Coincidentally, Siliga then returned to Seattle about a month later, signing as a free agent in March of 2016. He played in four games for the Seahawks before his waiver and the Buccaneers' claim.
The Buccaneers have now re-signed four of the 17 players who were due to become unrestricted free agents this week: Siliga, defensive tackle Will Gholston, safety Chris Conte and running back Jacquizz Rodgers. Gholston and Conte signed before the free agency period began on Thursday, with Conte and Siliga returning shortly after the market opened.
