Ryan Fitzpatrick won’t be the only player meeting up with a former team when the Buccaneers host the Jets on Sunday.
Jets quarterback Josh McCown had a tour of duty with the Buccaneers and so did his top receiver. Tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins has 33 catches in seven games this season, which is a better rate than he put up while catching 45 passes in 18 games with Tampa after they took him in the second round of the 2014 draft.
Seferian-Jenkins’ time with the Buccaneers was marred by a drinking problem that led to a DUI arrest and his release during the 2016 season. On Wednesday, Seferian-Jenkins, who went to rehab and lost weight this offseason, said that getting released turned out to be a major positive in his life.
“I had off-the-field issues and I understand I didn’t hold up my end of the bargain, but at the end of the day, I’m a Jet and that’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” Seferian-Jenkins said, via ESPN.com. “It’s the best thing that ever happened in my life. What’s in the past is in the past. I wish things went differently, but deep down ... no, I don’t. I’m happy I’m here. I’m happy with the way everything worked out. Unfortunately, I had to go down some pretty crappy roads and I had to go through some unfortunate things -- all by my choice. But all the bridges I burned brought me here to be a New York Jet, best city in the world, best organization in the league.”
Seferian-Jenkins also missed a lot of time with injuries during his Tampa days, which makes it hard to fault the Bucs for their decision to move on from a player who seems to have taken the right steps to salvage his playing career.