The last two days of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' nine-week offseason program have produced two changes to the roster for the upcoming training camp. The second came Tuesday, when the Buccaneers signed seventh-year cornerback Michael Adams and released rookie guard Jeremy Lewis.
Like the previous move – the addition of wide receiver last Thursday – this one was the result of a two-day tryout the Buccaneers afforded five players during last week's mini-camp practices. Like Hagan, Adams is an established NFL performer who has played extensively in recent seasons.
In Adams' case, all of his previous experience comes from six seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, who signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Louisiana-Lafayette in 2007. The 5-8, 181-pound defensive back played in 74 games with seven starts in Arizona, contributing 165 tackles, three interceptions and 18 passes defensed. He became an unrestricted free agent this past March.
Adams' most productive season was 2010, during which he played in all 16 games and established career highs in starts (four), tackles (52), interceptions (two) and passes defensed (seven). However, the most memorable moment during his Cardinals tenure actually came the season before, in the postseason to be exact. In overtime of a Wild Card playoff game against the Green Bay Packers on January 10, 2010, Adams sacked quarterback Aaron Rodgers, forcing a fumble that teammate Karlos Dansby recovered and returned for the game-winning touchdown.
Adams also established himself as a strong special teams player during his time in Arizona, recording 49 kick-coverage tackles plus a fumble return for a touchdown on a kickoff during the 2010 season. In fact, it was his work on special teams – 10 stops in seven games played – that first helped him beat the odds as an undrafted rookie and make the Cardinals' roster in 2007. In 2009, Adams established a career high with 17 kick-coverage stops while also greatly expanding his role on defense.
Lewis, who played his college ball at the University of Miami, signed with the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent on June 6. He had first worked out with the team on a tryout contract during its rookie mini-camp following the 2013 draft.
