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Pranking rookies is an NFL tradition as old as football itself, and on Wednesday night the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got a couple of their rookies good.
According to ESPN’s Jenna Laine, the Buccaneers offensive line was dining out at a Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Jacksonville and told the two undrafted rookies on the line — Korren Kirven and Cole Gardner — that they’d be buying the meal for the team, as per tradition.
The rookies quickly felt they were in over their heads when their server brought out a check charging the group over $ 26,000 for the meal. Buccaneers left tackle Donovan Smith posted a glimpse of the bill to his Instagram story, which Tampa Bay Times reporter Greg Auman was able to snag a screengrab of.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/898019126937047040
Ouch. Per @DSmith_76 Instagram, Bucs offensive line had $ 26,000 dinner on rookies Cole Gardner and Korren Kirven tonight in Jacksonville. pic.twitter.com/fTGWV9OkXD
Thankfully for the rookies, the truth was quickly revealed — it wasn’t a real bill. According to ESPN, the restaurant manager was even in on the prank, and the true tab was a much more manageable $ 3,000. Even better, the rookies didn’t have to pay for it.
“We were shocked at first when we saw the bill,” Kirven said. “We thought we weren’t gonna make it. But at the end, knowing they paid it was pretty cool of them.”
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