The last time the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced the Seattle Seahawks, in the 2007 regular-season opener, tight end Jerramy Stevens was coming off a high-profile court case that had sullied his reputation in South Florida.
This time around, the oft-troubled University of Washington product goes against his former team with a whole new lease on life.
“We’re really proud of what he’s become and what he’s going to do with the rest of his life,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden said. “We all understand that there are consequences for what has happened — and there’s going to be consequences if anything happens again — but I give this guy a lot of credit.
“He’s taken a lot of criticism, and in some ways, deservedly so, but I’m really proud of him.”
Buccaneers quarterback Jeff Garcia, who drives Stevens to work each day because the 27-year-old tight end is not allowed to drive a car, said that he is also proud of his teammate.
“I feel like he has tried to do his best to put that behind him, to create a new self-image for himself and for his family, and just going about doing things the right way,” Garcia said.
Stevens, a Lacey native, was the Seahawks’ first-round pick in the 2002 draft but never fully lived up to expectations. After a college career marred by off-the-field incidents, Stevens mostly stayed out of trouble in five seasons with the Seahawks.
Shortly after he became a free agent in 2007, Stevens was pulled over in Arizona and charged with driving under the influence. The Seahawks did not re-sign him, and he eventually joined the Buccaneers as the team’s third-string tight end.
This season, Stevens has eight pass receptions as a backup to Alex Smith.
“He’s going to get more and more action,” Gruden said. “He’s doing a much better job becoming the complete tight end that I think Seattle drafted him to be. We think he’s an outstanding tight end.”
Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren, who took a chance on Stevens after having a pre-draft conversation with the UW product, said that he will always have a spot in his heart for the 6-foot-7 tight end.
“I root for him,” Holmgren said Wednesday. “We went through a lot of stuff together. I hope he is doing well. I am speaking more off the field then as a football player. The football stuff is pretty obvious. “Right now that is the most important thing, as far as I am concerned, and it seems to be going OK.”
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