Buccaneers’ Sua Opeta suffers torn ACL in practice

Stinnie gained’t come to the rescue this yr, because the five-year veteran now performs in New York. To exchange him and Feiler, who’s at the moment unsigned on the free agent market, the Buccaneers signed Opeta
and former Giants starter Ben Bredeson. Bredeson and Opeta had been set to compete for the beginning left guard job this summer time, however with no Opeta, it needs to be Bredeson’s job to win.

An undrafted free agent out of Weber State in 2019, Opeta spent most of his rookie season on the Eagles’ apply squad, getting known as up in December however not showing in any video games. In his sophomore marketing campaign, he was known as up from the apply squad and made his NFL debut in Week 3. He began two video games in eight appearances that yr earlier than getting positioned on injured reserve. Over the following two seasons, Opeta would make two begins in 17 extra recreation appearances for Philadelphia.

Final yr, Opeta discovered some beginning snaps in six video games as an harm alternative for Cam Jurgens. Professional Soccer Focus (subscription required) utilized Opeta’s beginning pattern to grade him out because the NFL’s 58th finest guard, 17 spots over Bredeson, who graded out at seventy fifth. Regardless of not having Bredeson’s beginning expertise, many believed Opeta stood a robust likelihood at beating out Bredeson for the job.

With Opeta misplaced for the yr, although, Bredeson ought to have an open lane for the beginning gig. Since being traded from the Ravens to the Giants after his rookie marketing campaign, Bredeson has made 25 begins in 35 recreation appearances, together with 16 final yr. He has not graded out favorably within the eyes of PFF over time, however with out many different choices, Tampa Bay will want Bredeson to ship.