An 88-game NFL starter, Ted Larsen has not played since last season. But he now has a path back to game action. The Buccaneers signed the 10-year veteran offensive lineman Tuesday.
Larsen will join Tampa Bay’s practice squad, becoming the latest 30-something vet to agree to such an arrangement in this unusual NFL season. This will be a homecoming of sorts for Larsen, who played the first four seasons of his career in Tampa.
The Bucs originally added Larsen in 2010, claiming the sixth-round draft choice after the Patriots waived him, and used him as a near-full-time starter as a rookie. Larsen made 31 starts at guard and center with the Bucs during the Raheem Morris and Greg Schiano regimes but left for a Cardinals free agency deal in 2014. Larsen has since played for the Bears (two stints) and Dolphins.
Last season, Larsen started two games with the Bears and played in 12, doing so after the Dolphins made him a cap casualty as they began their rebuild. A more experienced Dolphins team featured Larsen as a full-time starter in 2018.
Tampa Bay’s offensive line lost a key component recently. A.Q. Shipley suffered what is believed to be a career-ending injury late last month. Larsen, 33, may have a chance to fill his shoes soon.
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