Although free agency doesn't officially start until March 3, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers jumped into player acquisition mode a bit early by re-signing cornerback Juran Bolden on Monday. Bolden was slated to become an unrestricted free agent in 2006 after signing a one-year deal in 2005.
Terms of Bolden's new deal were not disclosed by the team and a phone call to Bolden's agent by PewterReport.com was not returned on Monday night.
The 31-year old Bolden, who is entering his ninth season, played in a career-high 16 games and logged two starts in 2005 as the team's nickel back. Bolden beat out Torrie Cox and Blue Adams in training camp for the right to be the team's third cornerback when the team goes to nickel defense.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Bolden used his long wingspan and physical nature to record a career-high 42 tackles, two interceptions, nine pass breakups and notched two tackles on special teams, and helped Tampa Bay's defense achieve the number one ranking in the NFL, while the Bucs' pass defense finished sixth in the league.
Bolden was considered to be a significant upgrade over Mario Edwards, who was the starter at the nickel corner position in 2004.
In his eight-year career, Bolden has played in 93 games with 17 starts and racked up 156 tackles, nine picks, including one for a score, forced two fumbles and recovered one, while notching 41 career special teams tackles.
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