Aaron Stinnie stepped up in a big way when the Buccaneers needed him most, and now he’s getting rewarded. Tampa Bay has re-signed the guard, the team announced on Wednesday.
Terms of the deal weren’t immediately available, although it’s safe to assume it wasn’t a massive payday or anything. Stinnie was set to become a restricted free agent, but rather than deal with the tendering process the team just inked him to a new deal. Few around the league were familiar with Stinnie a few months ago, but he was suddenly thrust to prominence when he began starting during the Bucs’ Super Bowl run.
Stinnie started Tampa’s final three games, including the Super Bowl, after normal starter Alex Cappa went down in the Wild Card round. Incredibly, they were the first starts of Stinnie’s NFL career, but the moment wasn’t too big for him and he performed solidly.
An UDFA in 2018 out of James Madison, Stinnie originally signed with the Titans. After a year and a half in Tennessee, he was cut and claimed off waivers by the Bucs in November of 2019. It was a really cool story during the playoffs, and it’s nice to see him get brought back.