Jeremiah George is staying close to home.
A third-year NFL linebacker who hails from nearby Clearwater, George joined his hometown Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a waiver claim last September. The Buccaneers liked what they saw from the former Iowa State standout in 2015 and extended a qualifying offer to him in March, just before the start of free agency. That made George an exclusive rights free agent (ERFA), and on Wednesday he signed that one-year offer to turn it into his contract for 2016.
This bit of business was expected because, as an ERFA, George could only negotiate with the Buccaneers and was essentially re-signed when he received his tender offer.