Kindle Vildor, Who Had Costly 49ers Blunder, Departs Lions

Lions cornerback departs for NFC South squad in free agency.

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce (14) makes a catch against Detroit Lions cornerback Kindle Vildor (29) | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Cornerback Kindle Vildor has departed the Detroit Lions for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

According to reports, the 27-year-old veteran defensive back is signing a one-year free agent contract to join the NFC South squad.

Lions' fans have not or will likely never forget an unfortunate play that was quite costly in the NFC Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers back in 2023.

A ball actually found a way to deflect off his face mask and then was still caught was caught by wideout Brandon Aiyuk for a massive 51-yard gain.

"I've definitely seen it," Vildor said, when talking about the play with the Free Press. "I've seen it, for sure. We are watching film this week but we ain't watch that play. I haven't watched it this week. I know what happened, it's still crazy to me. But shoot, we've moved on now."

He expressed it was quite difficult still to go back and re-watch the entire game, but has seen replays of the blunder. In 2024, the 27-year-old recorded 16 tackles in Aaron Glenn's defense. He recorded 22 starts with the Bears from 2020-2022.

The Georgia Southern graduate should add cornerback depth and assist Todd Bowles' squad in special teams.

Despite criticism for giving up the explosive play, Vildor had productive moments during his stint in Motown.

Reports indicate Vildor's deal with the Buccaneers is a "veteran salary benefit" agreement, which is for one season at the veteran's minimum rate of $1.17 million.

Bucs' deal for corner Kindle Vildor is a "veteran salary benefit" contract -- one year at veteran minimum, should have a base of $1.17 million, but that counts against cap as $1.03m. NFL allows a bonus of up to $167,500 and still qualifying for VSB savings.

— Greg Auman (@gregauman) March 13, 2025