Sammuel Lamur is switching leagues and positions, but he doesn't have to switch towns.
On Thursday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Lamur, formerly of the Arena League's Tampa Bay Storm, to their camp roster to play linebacker. Lamur was a quarterback during his brief stint with the Storm and during his collegiate career at Kansas State and Joliet Junior College.
Lamur has both the size (6-5, 225) and the bloodlines to suggest he can handle the linebacker position. His twin brother, Emmanuel Lamur, has been a linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals since 2012, last year starting 13 games and contributing 91 tackles and two interceptions.
The Buccaneers created an opening on their 90-man camp roster on Wednesday by waiving rookie long-snapper Courtland Clavette. That leaves incumbent Andrew DePaola as the lone long-snapper on the roster. Lamur is the first player the team has added to the roster since camp opened on August 1.
Lamur first signed with the Storm last June, though he ended up on injured reserve by late July. He played in one Arena League game, compiling one tackle assist as a two-way player. At Kansas State, Lamur appeared in 15 contests, completing nine of 11 passes for 80 yards and also rushing nine times for 37 yards and a touchdown.
The Buccaneers routinely monitor other football leagues to look for players who could potentially succeed in the NFL. The team's most memorable addition from the Arena League was defensive end Stylez G. White, who led the Buccaneers in sacks in 2007 and 2009. One of the most astute free agent signings in franchise history came out of the Canadian Football League, which is where the Buccaneers found linebacker Shelton Quarles. Quarles played 10 seasons in Tampa, starting 113 games at two positions and setting team records for most special teams tackles in a single season (31) and longest touchdown of any kind (98-yard interception return). Quarles is now the Buccaneers' Director of Football Operations.
