A 6-foot-7 edge rusher out of Iowa who has quietly been part of Tampa Bay's front seven since a Super Bowl-winning rookie year.
Anthony Nelson has spent his entire career with the Buccaneers, growing from a fourth-round developmental piece into a reliable rotational pass rusher. He has now played parts of eight seasons in Tampa, setting the edge against the run and chipping in a steady pass-rush presence off the edge.
Path to the league
Nelson played four seasons at Iowa, totaling 23 sacks and 119 tackles for the Hawkeyes, including a 9.5-sack redshirt junior year that tied for second-most in the Big Ten. Tampa Bay drafted him in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
Career highlights
Nelson has spent his entire NFL career with the Buccaneers, appearing in more than 100 regular-season games. He was part of Tampa Bay's Super Bowl-winning roster in the 2020 season, playing all 16 games that year, and has continued to earn new contracts in Tampa thanks to his size and edge-setting ability.
2025 season recap
Nelson remained a rotational outside linebacker for the Buccaneers in 2025, appearing in 15 games and recording 3.0 sacks as part of Tampa Bay's front-seven mix.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Anthony Nelson (American football)
- Pro Football Reference: Anthony Nelson
Statistics
2025 season and career2025 Season · Defense
15 games played▶Defense · career
| Year | Team | GP | TOT | SOLO | SACK | INT | FF | FR | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | buccaneers | 15 | 38 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2024 | buccaneers | 17 | 40 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2023 | buccaneers | 16 | 40 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2022 | buccaneers | 17 | 46 | 26 | 5.5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | buccaneers | 17 | 22 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2020 | buccaneers | 16 | 18 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019 | buccaneers | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Linebacker
- Group
- defense
- College
- Iowa
- Hometown
- Urbandale, IA, USA
- Age
- 29
- Status
- active
