Center A.Q. Shipley is reuniting with head coach Bruce Arians with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The two sides have reached agreement, pending a physical when protocol allows.
Shipley played for Arians from 2013 to 2017, when Arians was the Arizona Cardinals‘ head coach.
A veteran of 11 NFL seasons, Shipley helped anchor an offensive line that led the Cardinals to their best rushing season in franchise history, averaging 5.03 yards per carry in 2019.
Shipley, 34, has developed a reputation for being tough in the trenches despite being perceived as undersized for a center at 6-foot-1 and 307 pounds. Coming off an ACL injury that caused him to miss the entire 2018 season, Shipley signed a one-year extension with the Cardinals worth $1.91 million and played in all 16 games in 2019.
According to ESPN’s pass-blocking win rate, Shipley won 96% of his matchups — the fifth-best rate in the league last season.
He also was the Cardinals’ nominee for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award.
Shipley was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the seventh round of the 2009 draft and bounced around with teams before finally catching on with the Indianapolis Colts in 2012. He has played for five teams, including stints on practice squads before finally earning his first multiyear contract in 2017.
Paired with rookie quarterback Kyler Murray last season, Shipley earned the unique distinction of being only the second NFL center since 1967 to have started an NFL game snapping to three No. 1 overall draft picks — Murray, Carson Palmer and Andrew Luck (Colts) — during his career.
Coincidentally, Samson Satele, the other center to snap to three No. 1s during his career, was a teammate of Shipley’s with the Colts.
ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss contributed to this report.