We're a few weeks into the regular season but the dust is still settling on some of the late training camp moves some teams made. Among the final cuts the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made was former undrafted rookie Tyrek Funderburk, who found his way onto the active roster last season after battling his way onto the final 53-man roster.
Funderburk's time in Tampa Bay was short-lived and less than memorable, but he has already found a new home where he hopes to continue developing his career.
After getting the axe in Tampa Bay, he'll head up to Minnesota, where Funderburk hopes to latch on and become a useful part of Brian Flores' defense. While he didn't end up making it with the Bucs, it's not hard to see him working his way into the mix with the Vikings.
#Vikings sign Tyrek Funderburk to practice squad along with Sione Takitaki
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) September 11, 2025
Funderburk benefited greatly from gaining an opportunity thanks to injuries, but didn't totally make the most of the chances he was given. Depth was -- and unfortunately continues to be -- an issue last season, which is when Funderburk saw a majority of action.
Minnesota is dealing with a rash of injuries on defense, so this could be a familiar situation for Funderburk to settle into.
What the Bucs saw was exactly what Funderburk was: an undrafted rookie who still had a lot to learn. He tried his best but it's hard to say there's a lot of positives to take away from how things went in the secondary last season and Funderburk wasn't as much of a help as he could have been.
Still, if we want to paint this in a positive light, Funderburk was one of a handful of UDFA successes in that he saw playing time. Jason Licht has prided himself over the years in being able to identify deep cut talent and Funderburk was part of that.
He might not be in Tampa Bay anymore, but the fact that he's already found a new home with one of the wiser defensive minds in the league means it's not that much of a stretch to say it's yet another feather in Licht's draft cap.
Let's not pretend like this is some major move, though. It's notable because there was a chance that Funderburk could have made the final roster this year, but he didn't. Despite all the issues the Bucs continue to have with depth, Funderburk couldn't make the final cut which says a lot about how far he needs to come before he's anything more than a practice squad addition for Minnesota.
Still, he showed some flash in Tampa and if he can take what he learned from Bowles and continue his growth under Flores, then there's a chance we'll see him on Sundays once again.
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