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Coming off three consecutive Pro Bowl campaigns in Miami, Brent Grimes has quietly put together another great season in Tampa, both as a player and a mentor.
“He’s been what we anticipated we were going to get when we signed him as a free agent,” Bucs defensive coordinator Mike Smith said Thursday. “He’s been a guy who I think has been a great mentor for some of these young guys in our room, in terms of how you’re supposed to play defensive back.”
As well as being sounding board for the likes of Vernon Hargreaves and Javien Elliott, the 10th-year pro has also led by example on the field.
Since Week 4, Grimes has defended 18 passes and picked off another three. He also has a chance to hit 60 tackles this Sunday (currently at 53), which would be a fourth for his career and the first time since 2013, his first year in Miami.
“He’s a very active player that gets his hands on a lot of footballs, and he’s been a productive guy,” said Smith, who drafted Grimes in 2007 and coached him in Atlanta for six years prior to reuniting in Tampa. “He’s made some game-saving tackles. In fact, the last time we played Carolina, he had the game-saving tackle on the 1-yard line and then on the next play he had the pick.”
Though he stands 5-foot-10, Smith said Grimes, 34, can jump “like he’s a 6-foot-4 guy,” which the aforementioned pick in Week 5 illustrated best. He’s also a student of the game, Smith said, always watching film and keeping tabs on opposing wide receivers and quarterbacks.
“He’s been a productive player for us and I certainly hope he continues to beat Father Time and will be with us for a little bit longer,” Smith said. Grimes’ contract, signed last March, was a two-year deal worth $16.5 million with $7 million guaranteed. His cap hit for 2017 would be $6.5 million.