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Mr. Irrelevant? Houston linebacker out to show otherwise

Houston linebacker Grant Stuard isn’t into caps, but his dad has quite a collection and grabbed one for his son to wear during the NFL draft.

Neither even knew what the cap represented — a throwback orange Tampa Bay Buccaneers hat featuring a winking pirate with a knife in his mouth.

That Bucs look has long been in mothballs, the logo and colors representing a franchise that lost far more than it won and was largely irrelevant compared to the rest of the NFL.

But it came in handy Saturday when the Super Bowl champion Bucs, owning the final pick in the draft, chose Stuard, making him this year’s Mr. Irrelevant.

Stuard said he “watched every pick” and was preparing to sign as a free agent as the seventh and final round was coming to a close.

“When Tampa Bay called me, that was crazy,” Stuard said. “It’s the best team, so I’m ready to go.”

In more typical times, the Mr. Irrelevant “winner” gets feted with a banquet in Newport Beach, California, and gets to enjoy nearby Disneyland. COVID-19 concerns makes this year’s celebrations to be determined, but the organization behind the ceremony said Stuard would be honored in some capacity in Southern California or Tampa Bay.

Stuard, who was a first-team, American Athletic Conference selection last season, used his Pro Day last month to raise money for Heels to Halos, a Christian nonprofit that works to get women out of the sex industry. Stuard surpassed his fundraising goal of $5,000.

It’s a topic that literally hits home for him. His mother worked in the sex industry and struggled with drugs, forcing Stuard to serve as a father figure for his four siblings.

“Whether it’s a toy drive or a back-to-school drive or a food drive, find opportunities to give back and actually doing something about it, I feel like as a football player I have such a big platform,” Stuard said. “Any area I can help, I’m trying to help.”

As for what he hopes to accomplish with the Bucs, Stuard knows his best hope is to make an impression on special teams. Seventh-round draft picks are far from guaranteed of making a roster, and the Bucs’ return all 22 Super Bowl starters.

“He’s got a lot of emotion on the field,” Bucs general manager Jason Licht said. “He’s had a little bit of a tough life. He’s a very mature person and a very accountable person and a very accountable football player. Guys that can get through tough times and adversity, that’s a big box to check for us. We think that definitely helps them in their chance to make our football team.”

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.

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