The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed first-year safety Orion Stewart, who most recently played in the Alliance of American Football (AAF) after going to training camp with the New York Giants last summer.
Stewart (6-1, 205) is the second safety the Buccaneers have added in the last month, following the mid-March signing of former Green Bay Packer Kentrell Brice. The team also inked Deone Bucannon as an unrestricted free agent, and Bucannon saw playing time at both safety and linebacker during his tenure with the Arizona Cardinals. In addition, second-year defensive back M.J. Stewart, who played cornerback as a rookie, could convert to safety in 2019.
Stewart first entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Baylor, signing with the Denver Broncos in 2017. He has seen time on practice squads in Buffalo and Washington and has played in eight preseason games, recording 20 tackles, three passes defensed and a quarterback hit. In four seasons at Baylor, Stewart amassed 239 tackles, 12 interceptions and 24 passes defensed.
In the AAF, Stewart played for the San Antonio Commanders and notably recorded the first interception in league history. He is the first veteran of the AAF to sign with the Buccaneers, though a number of others have landed on rosters around the NFL since the new league suspended operations earlier this month.
