Buccaneers Re-sign Gholston and Signed Free Agent Metz
Gholston (6-6, 281) returns for his 12th season in Tampa Bay, making him the second-longest tenured Buccaneers player behind only Lavonte David. Since being selected by Tampa Bay in the fourth round (No. 126 overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft, Gholston has played in 169 career regular season games, with 88 starts. His 169 games played with the Buccaneers rank sixth in franchise history.
In his career, Gholston has recorded 420 tackles (58 for loss), 77 quarterback hits, 19.5 sacks, 14 passes defensed, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, one interception and four blocked kicks. He has also appeared in all nine playoff games for Tampa Bay over the past four seasons. In his playoff career, Gholston has tallied four quarterback hits and eight tackles, including one for loss. The Detroit native played collegiately at Michigan State.
Off the field, Gholston has led by example through a steadfast commitment to supporting charitable causes. In addition to being Tampa Bay’s 2022 nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, he was also named a finalist for the 2022 NFLPA Alan Page Community Award. Gholston has helped spearhead the Buccaneers Mobile Food Pantry program providing food to hundreds of families in East Tampa, and has also helped lead distribution events in his hometown of Detroit.
In 2022, Gholston donated $225,000 to fund research at Moffitt Cancer Center’s George Edgecomb Society. He serves as an ambassador for Moffitt and the fight against cancer, which has directly impacted his family. Gholston also mentors middle school students through the team’s Youth Leadership Program, serves as a spokesperson for the It’s A Penalty campaign to prevent human trafficking, and sponsors a community ticket program to provide a special gameday experience for Tampa Bay-area charities.
Metz (6-9, 316) originally entered the NFL as a college free agent with the Chicago Bears in May 2023, where he spent part of the 2023 offseason. The Neuötting, Germany, native played collegiately at the University of Cincinnati (2018-2022), appearing in 43 career games, splitting time at both guard and both tackle positions. He was named first-team All-AAC (American Athletic Conference) in 2021 after contributing to a Bearcats offense that set program records in touchdowns (70) and points scored (516), while ranking ninth nationally in yards per play (6.71).
Metz qualifies as an International Player through the NFL’s International Pathway Program (IPPP), which allows for a team to expand their practice squad to a maximum of 17 players. Tampa Bay has added Metz to its Exempt/International Player list, resulting in him not counting against the team’s 90-player roster limit for the remainder of the 2024 offseason.
