Carl Nassib is headed back to a familiar place, signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a one-year deal, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday.
Nassib began his career in Cleveland, but found his most success once the Browns cut him and he joined the Buccaneers in 2018. In his two seasons in Tampa, Nassib recorded 12.5 sacks, 63 tackles and three forced fumbles while appearing in 17 regular-season games. He'll also find familiarity on the coach staff, as current head coach Todd Bowles was Nassib's defensive coordinator in 2019.
Nassib's performance with the Buccaneers earned him a three-year, $25 million deal with the Raiders in 2020, but the emergence of Maxx Crosby and 2021 addition of Yannick Ngakoue reduced Nassib to a rotational role. He started 11 games in 2020 and zero in 2021 before the Raiders cut him in March.
He'll fill another rotational role in Tampa, where the Buccaneers are turning to second-year defender Joe Tryon-Shoyinka to replace Jason Pierre-Paul opposite Shaquil Barrett.
The 28-year-old Nassib became the first openly gay active NFL player last offseason.
He'll resume his career with the team that once gave him an opportunity to prove he could be a quality contributor for a contending club.
