The Tampa Bay Buccaneers know well the importance of depth in the secondary after negotiating their way around a long string of injuries in 2024, and they took a step in building that depth on Thursday by signing former Detroit Lions cornerback Kindle Vildor.
Vildor has played five seasons in the NFL, the last two in Detroit, where he appeared in 22 games with four starts during the regular season and four games with three starts in the playoffs. Last season, he played in all 17 games for the Lions, made two starts and contributed 16 tackles and three passes defensed. He also played 48% of the team's special teams snaps.
Vildor first entered the NFL as a fifth-round pick in the 2020 draft by the Chicago Bears. He started 22 games over three seasons in Chicago before being waived at the end of the 2023 preseason. Vildor split the first half of that season between Tennessee and Philadelphia before signing to the Lions' practice squad in November and eventually getting a promotion to the active roster.
In all, Vildor has seen action in 68 regular season games, logging 26 starts. He has compiled 124 tackles, one interception, 15 passes defensed, one sack, five tackles for loss and one forced fumble. He has added 20 tackles and a pass defensed in five postseason contests.
The Buccaneers have three cornerbacks on their own list of players who became unrestricted free agents on Wednesday: Bryce Hall, Troy Hill and Tavierre Thomas. Vildor joins a cornerback group currently consisting of Jamel Dean, Zyon McCollum, Josh Hayes, Dallis Flowers and Tyrek Funderburk.