Buccaneers Sign Carl Nassib, First Openly Gay NFL Player: Reports

TAMPA, FL — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed outside linebacker Carl Nassib to a one-year contract Monday, according to multiple reports.

The details of the contract have not been released.

Nassib, the first player on an active NFL roster to come out as gay, returns to the Buccaneers after a two-year stint with the Las Vegas Raiders. The signing comes after backup outside linebacker Cam Gill suffered a foot injury Saturday in Tampa Bay's preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins.

The seventh-year veteran joins a rotation that includes Shaquil Barrett, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Anthony Nelson. The Bucs declined to re-sign Jason Pierre-Paul in the offseason, and the pass rusher remains unsigned.

Nassib came out as gay last year in a video posted to Instagram, which he also used to bring awareness to issues of depression and suicide facing LGBTQ+ youth. He said he was donating $100,000 to The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention program from LGBTQ+ youth, and pledged to match others' donations.

"I'm a pretty private person, so I hope you guys know that I’m really not doing this for attention. I just think that representation and visibility are so important," he said in the video.

Nassib was drafted out of Penn State in the third round, 65th overall, by the Cleveland Browns in the 2016 NFL Draft. He had his best seasons in 2018 and 2019 with the Buccaneers, when he accrued 12.5 sacks and 20 tackles for loss in 29 games.

Nassib signed a 3-year, $25.25 million contract with the Raiders in 2020 but was cut with one year left on the deal. He had four sacks, eight tackles for loss and an interception in two seasons with the Raiders.