Cameron Kinley has arrived at Buccaneers training camp after an offseason ordeal that started with him being told he’d be required to serve in the Navy rather than pursue his NFL dream, and ended with the secretary of defense calling Kinley directly to tell him he can play pro football.
Now Kinley, who had a stellar college football career at Navy, hopes future players from his alma mater, as well as Army and Air Force, will have clearly defined procedures about how they can pursue their athletic careers first before fulfilling their required military service.
“That’s what this was all about . . . in the future that nobody would have to go through what I went through,” Kinley said, via Joey Knight of the Tampa Bay Times. “So I hope that the situation serves for that, and that we have some consistency moving forward, so that everybody gets a chance to live out both their dreams.”
There’s no guarantee that Kinley, an undrafted rookie cornerback, will make the Buccaneers’ roster. But Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians said Kinley arrived at camp in great shape, and he’ll be given every opportunity to show he belongs in the NFL -- an opportunity he didn’t think he’d have a couple months ago.