Kendrick Ings Signs With Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Storm announced that former wide receiver and kick returner Kendrick Ings signed with the National Football League’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

 

As Storm vice president of football operations Jeff Gooch explains:

“This a great accomplishment for Kendrick. His hard work and dedication has put him in a position to move on to the next level. We are all proud of him.”

Ings (5’10”, 180 lbs.), who played high school football at Miller Grove H.S. in Georgia, played five games in his sophomore season for the Storm in 2016. In that short stint, he caught 20 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns.

While he was a threat at receiver, he was most dangerous on special teams, needing only those five games to become Tampa Bay’s leading kick returner, averaging 116.4 kickoff return yards per game.

Ings began his career Storm in 2015 after attending a preseason open tryout. In just two seasons in the Arena Football League, he has caught 88 passes for 1,240 yards and 17 touchdowns.  As a kick returner, he also has 110 kickoff returns for 2,017 yards and four touchdowns.

Ings has previous outdoor experience, spending the beginning of the 2015 NFL season on the practice squad of the Detroit Lions.  He also spent part of the 2016 season in the Canadian Football League with the BC Lions.

Storm Hopeful that Receivers Help End Slump

The Tampa Bay Storm lost their fourth consecutive game two weeks ago when they lost to the Orlando Predators. They are keeping positive and are hopeful that two of their newest receivers can help them get through the final four games.

Wide receiver Prechae Rodriguez, who the team acquired in a trade with the Arizona Rattlers, made a big impact in their game against the Predators. He caught 13 passes for 113 yards and three touchdowns.

Rodriguez returns to the Storm after tying a Storm franchise record with 125 catches during his rookie campaign in 2012. He also set a Storm record with 1,653 receiving yards that same season. Head coach Laurence Samuels didn’t expect any less from Rodriguez.

“I expect that out of Prechae, to play top-notch arena football,” Samuels said, “he plays hard, stays late after practice, works with the quarterback. He’s the last one to leave the field. He does all the little things. That’s being a pro. It shows up on game day.”

The other wide receiver the Storm added to their roster was Kendrick Ings. He caught  four passes for 107 yards. He also returned six kickoff returns for 107 yards in the game against Orlando.

He joins the Storm after being cut by the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League.

The Storm will look to make a late season push with four games left. Their next game is tonight against the Los Angeles KISS at the Honda Center in Los Angeles.