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Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Mike Edwards.

There’s something to be said for going back to where people know you the best. It’s something 2-time Super Bowl champion safety Mike Edwards has done several times in his NFL career and will do again in 2025.

Edwards signed with the Kansas City Chiefs on April 3 after starting 5 games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2024. It’s the second stint with the Chiefs for Edwards, who won a Super Bowl with them following the 2023 season. Edwards was also on his second stint in Tampa Bay — he spent the first 4 seasons of his career with the Buccaneers and was part of their Super Bowl winning team following the 2020 season.

“Edwards, 28, has spent most of his career with the Buccaneers, and appeared in five games with two starts for the club in 2024,” Pro Football Talk’s Myles Simmons wrote on April 3. “But he also played for the Chiefs in 2023, winning Super Bowl LVIII. He recorded 51 total tackles, five passes defended, and an interception for Kansas City that season. Edwards has played 83 games with 30 starts for the Bucs, Chiefs, and Bills. He’s tallied 27 passes defensed with eight picks.”

Edwards, who has $11.2 million in career earnings, was a man on the move in 2024. He started the season with the Buffalo Bills before spending time with the Tennessee Titans and eventually landed in Tampa Bay.

2-Time All-SEC Selection Started Career With Bucs

Edwards, 5-foot-10 and 205 pounds, was a 2-time All-SEC pick at Kentucky before the Buccaneers selected him in the third round (No. 99 overall) of the 2019 NFL draft. Edwards was a valued role player through his first 3 seasons with Tampa Bay and started a career high 12 games for the Buccaneers in 2022.

Throughout his career, Edwards has shown a knack for making game-changing plays. He had 7 interceptions through his first 4 seasons with the Buccaneers and led the NFL with 2 interception returns for touchdowns in 2021 — touchdowns that came on back-to-back possessions against the Atlanta Falcons.

Edwards led the NFL with 101 yards on 2 fumble recoveries in 2023 with the Chiefs, including a 97-yard fumble return for a touchdown in Week 18 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The play Edwards is most known for on the Chiefs came in Week 9 of the 2023 regular season, when he scooped up a fumble by Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill and lateraled it backwards to Bryan Cook, who took it and ran for a 59-yard touchdown.

“One of my favorite Mike Edwards moments,” X user How ‘Bout Those Chiefs wrote on their official X account. “He scooped up the fumble and pitched it back to Bryan Cook after McDuffie stripped it out of Tyreek’s tiny little hands.”

Buccaneers Could Add Safety in 2025 NFL Draft

The Buccaneers definitely need reinforcements in the secondary — especially at safety after NFL All-Pro Antoine Winfield Jr. missed a career-high 8 games due to injuries in 2024.

ESPN’s Field Yates predicted Tampa Bay will address the issue by selecting Georgia safety Malaki Starks with the No. 19 overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft.

“Tampa Bay allowed the fourth-most passing yards per game last season (243.9) and desperately needs a partner for All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. at the third level of the defense,” Yates wrote. ” … Starks is a versatile, instinctive safety who is willing to help in any phase of the defense.”

Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame