Don’t look now, but former Tampa Bay Buccaneers edge rusher Cam Gill might have set himself up for another chance in the NFL.
Gill, who won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent rookie in 2020, was just named the 2026 UFL Defensive Player of the Year after leading the Louisville Kings to the UFL championship.
“Cam Gill signed with the Bucs as a UDFA following the 2020 NFL Draft,” Pewter Report wrote on its official X account. “He stuck around in Tampa Bay until 2023, and even notched a half sack in Super Bowl LV. Now, he’s the UFL DPOY and single-season sack leader, and could get another shot in the NFL.”
Gill, 6-foot-2 and 232 pounds, set the UFL single-season sacks record with 10.0 sacks in 2026.
“Cam Gill signed with the UFL’s Louisville Kings ahead of the 2026 season, and he’s already cemented himself as one of the league’s best players,” Pewter Report’s Scott Crysler wrote. “Gill recorded three multi-sack games this season on his way to leading the league and setting a new UFL single-season record with 10 sacks. In addition to being the sack leader, Gill was named to the All-UFL Team and was named the UFL Defensive Player of the Year. He even received MVP consideration … It’s an incredible career trajectory for Gill, and the former Buccaneer could very well find himself getting another opportunity in the NFL this season thanks to his standout performance in the UFL.”
Unlikely Path to Becoming Super Bowl Champion
By any standard, at just 6-foot-2 and 232 pounds, Gill is grossly undersized to be a professional football edge rusher.
That hasn’t stopped him from playing almost a decade of professional football.
Gill, a South Carolina native, starred for an FCS school, Wagner, where he was a 2-time NEC Defensive Player of the Year and 2-time All-American, and finished his career as the NEC’s career leader with 34.0 sacks.
After not being selected in the 2020 NFL draft, Gill made the 53-man roster for the Buccaneers in 2020 and stayed on the roster for 4 years. He spent the 2024 season on the practice squads of the Carolina Panthers and Detroit Lions. He was on the Minnesota Vikings‘ practice squad in 2025, and his stint with the Louisville Kings was his 1st in the UFL.
Bucs — Finally — Have Hope at Edge Rusher
The Buccaneers, after a long drought, finally have new hope at edge rusher.
That hope comes in the form of the precipitous draft drop of Miami All-American Rueben Bain Jr., who somehow fell into Tampa Bay’s lap at No. 15 overall in the 1st round.
Bain will, in a short time, be the player the Buccaneers build their entire defense around. He’s a 3-down defender who can line up everywhere from edge rusher to a defensive end in a 3-4 alignment or, in a pinch, could slide down to defensive tackle when he has to — and has been the most dominant player on every level of football he’s played to this point.
“The Tampa Bay Buccaneers just made a statement,” Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski wrote in April. “The organization waded through all of the noise and landed an elite prospect. Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. was an every-down disruptor the past season. His power to rock blockers is an absolute joy to watch. Then again, too many allowed one number to blur the evaluation.”
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