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Center AQ Shipley is reuniting with head coach Bruce Arians with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The two parties reached an agreement, awaiting a physical when protocol allows.
Shipley played for the Arians from 2013 to 2017, when Arians was the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.
An 11-season NFL veteran, Shipley helped anchor an offensive line that led the Cardinals to their best running season in franchise history, averaging 5.03 yards per carry in 2019.
Shipley, 34, has gained a reputation for being tough in the trenches despite being perceived as undersized for a 6-foot-1, 307-pound center. After an ACL injury that caused him to miss the entire 2018 season, Shipley signed a one-year extension with the Cardinals worth $ 1.91 million and played all 16 games in 2019.
According to ESPN’s pass-blocking win rate, Shipley has won 96% of his clashes – the fifth-best rate in the league last season.
He was also the Cardinals’ nominee for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship award.
Shipley was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the seventh round of the 2009 draft and bounced back with the teams before finally catching up with the Indianapolis Colts in 2012. He played for five teams, including stints on teams from training before finally landing his first multi-year contract. in 2017.
Paired with rookie quarterback Kyler Murray last season, Shipley earned the unique distinction of being the second NFL center since 1967 to start an NFL game by moving to three picks in the No.1 Draft – Murray, Carson Palmer and Andrew Luck (Colts) – during his career.
Coincidentally, Samson Satele, the other center to get three No.1s in his career, was a Shipley teammate with the Colts.
ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss contributed to this report.
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