NFL Legend Watches Son Play 1st Game As Tampa Bay Buccaneer

TAMPA, FL — All eyes were on the Tampa Bay Bucs as they played their first preseason game in three years Friday without superstar quarterback Tom Brady calling the plays.

Among those intensely watching the Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium 27-17 was retired NFL quarterback and Hall of Famer Kurt Warner. Seated in a front-row seat, Warner admitted he had a big stake in the game.

It was the debut NFL game of his son, Kade Warner, wide receiver for the Buccaneers.

For the elder Warner, the stadium evoked memories of Super Bowl XLIII when Arizona Cardinals quarterback Warner suited up as a member of the Arizona Cardinals against the Steelers at Raymond James on Feb. 1, 2009.

"I never thought I'd cheer for TB," Warner joked in a tweet. "How quickly things change."

Later, in an interview, Warner noted the similarities in his and his son's football careers.

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Warner played 12 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams and the Cardinals, in what the sports media regarded as one of the greatest Cinderellas stories in NFL history.

Warner entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent and went on to become a two-time Most Valuable Player and Super Bowl MVP.

During his first season as an NFL starting quarterback, Warner led what's now nicknamed "The Greatest Show on Turf" in tribute to the Rams' outstanding offense in 1999, 2000 and 2001 under head coach Mike Martz, during which the Rams had record scoring and yardage, three MVP honors and Super Bowl appearances in 1999 and 2001.

In 2000, the Rams set an NFL record with 7,335 total offensive yards. Of those, 5,492 were passing yards, another NFL record.

Warner earned Super Bowl MVP honors during Super Bowl XXXIV when the Rams trounced the Tennessee Titans.

Considered the NFL's greatest undrafted player, Warner is the only undrafted player to be named NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP as well as the only undrafted quarterback to lead his team to a Super Bowl win and the first quarterback to win a Super Bowl during his first season as a primary starter.

It's an achievement that resulted in his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017 and prompted the Hollywood production studio, Lionsgate, to release "American Underdog" in 2021, a film based on Warner's career.

The father of seven retired from the NFL in 2010 to spend more time with his wife, Brenda, and kids. He also served as the football coach of Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale, Arizona, where Kade Warner played wide receiver from 2015 to 2017 and was twice named all-state. As a senior, Kade had 1,062 receiving yards off 83 catches with 14 touchdowns and broke Mark Andrews' record for career receptions with 241.

Nevertheless, like his father, Kade didn't receive a single scholarship offer to play college ball. He eventually joined the Nebraska Cornhuskers as a walk-on and then transferred to the Kansas State Wildcats in 2021. Making team captain in 2022, Kade Warner posted a career-high of 46 receptions for 456 years with five touchdowns. He accumulated 622 yards and five touchdowns on 60 receptions during that two-year stint at Kansas State.

Nevertheless, mimicking his dad's career, Kaden Warner, now 24, was unselected in the 2023 NFL Draft and was eventually signed by the Tampa Bay Bucs as an undrafted free agent.

It's yet to be seen if the younger Warner will copy his father's success in the NFL.

He had a lackluster start in his first game of the season, recording just one catch for 10 yards, the lowest of any wide receiver on the roster.

But don't count the younger Warner out yet. Like his dad, he could rally during the upcoming season.

Calling Warner "coachable, very coachable," Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said Warner is a "solid football player. He can catch the ball, he can play special teams, he can do a lot of things that we need, and we're always looking for special teams players."

Kade Warner's dad shrugged off his son's less-than-stellar first-game performance.

"I remember my first two training camps — very limited reps, daily frustration thinking I’m going to get cut before they ever know what I’m capable of — but keep working, stay ready and jump when the opp comes, because you never know," Kurt Warner tweeted.

He recalled a former NFL player saying the most nervous he ever was in football was his first preseason game.

"This is so true," Kurt Warner said. "New environment, playing for a job for the first time, making mistakes you don’t normally make, etc..."