BuccaneersFan.com • Player Spotlight • Tampa Bay No. 24
Current official portrait: Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Cornerback • NFL rookie
A pick-six introduction to the Krewe
Ayden Marquese Garnes
- Born
- March 20, 2003 • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Listed size
- 6 feet • 181 pounds
- High school
- Monsignor Bonner & Archbishop Prendergast Catholic High School • Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania
- College
- Duquesne, 2021–2023
West Virginia, 2024
Arizona, 2025 - NFL entry
- Undrafted free agent • Signed May 8, 2026
- NFL debut
- October 4, 2026 • vs. Green Bay
- Current team
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers • Active roster
Sources: current Buccaneers profile, Duquesne biography and 2026 transactions. Measurements follow the current team listing.
Sources: the Jets preseason feature, college records and Duquesne’s conference honors. NFL participation is current through November 1, 2026 (Week 8), checked November 3.
Ayden Garnes gave the Krewe an early reason to learn No. 24. In his first Buccaneers preseason game, he intercepted a pass and took it 47 yards to the end zone. More than 50 relatives, friends and former coaches were there to see it. A rookie trying to earn a job had produced a moment his supporters could celebrate together. The family connection at MetLife Stadium.
His route to Tampa had already covered three college programs and two levels of Division I football. Along the way, Garnes became a conference honoree, helped a new secondary and stepped forward as a bone-marrow donor. The football story gives fans a player to follow; his decision to help a stranger gives that introduction another dimension. The college journey; his community recognition.
Pittsburgh → Morgantown → Tucson
Three campuses, a growing responsibility
Duquesne, 2021–2023 A redshirt becomes a captain.
Garnes spent 2021 without a game appearance, then played ten times in 2022 and started the final seven games. By 2023, he was a team captain and an every-game starter. His development at Duquesne established the foundation for the opportunities that followed: regular assignments, responsibility within the team and a place among the Northeast Conference’s leading defensive backs. The Duquesne seasons.
West Virginia, 2024 A move into the Big 12.
West Virginia announced his transfer on January 10, 2024, bringing him from Jerry Schmitt’s Duquesne program into Neal Brown’s defense. Garnes appeared in six games before injury shortened his season. The move gave him a new setting and a different weekly schedule, but only a partial season in which to establish himself. The transfer announcement; the completed season summary.
Arizona, 2025 A full final season.
Arizona added Garnes to its 2025 class, and he went on to start all 13 games. His contributions included an interception at Colorado and eight pass breakups across the season. The Wildcats finished first nationally in team pass-efficiency defense, with Garnes part of the secondary that helped produce that result. His arrival; the Arizona record.
August 14, 2026 • MetLife Stadium • Preseason
A familiar route, a very public answer
Preseason interception return
47
YARDS • TOUCHDOWN
A second-quarter spark.
A sideline full of new teammates.
BUCCANEERS 24 • JETS 16
Garnes picked off Bailey Zappe in the second quarter and ran the ball back for a touchdown, pulling Tampa Bay level at 10–10. The Buccaneers had fallen behind early, and his return helped bring them back into the game before the offense put together two second-half touchdown drives. The official preseason recap.
Afterward, Garnes explained that he recognized a third-and-nine curl-route concept from the teams’ joint practices and his film review. The play joined preparation to opportunity: identify the route, arrive at the throw and finish the return. The family group in the stands supplied a particularly personal audience for his first preseason appearance. His account of the read.
Undrafted in April • A Buccaneer in May
Turning a summer opportunity into a roster spot
Tampa Bay signed Garnes on May 8, 2026, adding him to its incoming group of college free agents. An undrafted signing places a player in the offseason competition; the next task is to keep earning assignments as the roster narrows. Garnes arrived with several years of college experience but the same need to show the coaching staff how that experience would translate. The rookie signing announcement; the transaction record.
By the time Tampa Bay announced its initial 53-man roster, he had made a persuasive case. General manager Jason Licht praised his instincts, toughness and confidence, pointing to the plays he made on the ball throughout camp. Licht’s assessment described a rookie who believed he belonged and carried that belief into his work. Licht’s September 1 assessment.
There was still coaching to absorb. After the Jets game, Todd Bowles discussed an earlier missed tackle as well as the interception, noting Garnes’s ability to move on to the next play. For a young cornerback, that response is part of the job: one snap can demand a correction, and the next can present another chance to help. Bowles on the rookie’s progress.
2026 NFL regular season • Through Week 8
The rookie season, week by week
Garnes made his NFL regular-season debut against Green Bay on October 4, then appeared at Dallas and against Pittsburgh. Those three appearances have come largely on special teams. The Dallas game also included his first defensive snap, adding a brief defensive assignment to his work on the kicking units.
Through November 1, he has three games played and no starts, with no credited defensive or special-teams statistical events. He was listed inactive for the other five games. His place on the active roster and his availability for a particular game are separate parts of that weekly record; the table identifies each.
Participation record: The player profile’s blank defensive-stat lines do not show his three appearances. This table follows the official gamebooks. *The gamebooks label their playtime appendices, including defensive and special-teams snap counts, unofficial. Gamebooks: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8.
2026 regular-season participation
| Week | Date | Opponent | Tampa Bay result | Status / role | G | GS | DEF snaps* | ST snaps* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 09/13 | @ Cincinnati | L 27–33 | Inactive | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| 2 | 09/20 | Cleveland | L 19–23 | Inactive | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| 3 | 09/27 | Minnesota | L 16–23 | Inactive | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| 4 | 10/04 | Green Bay | L 14–17 | Special teams | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | 10/08 | @ Dallas | W 24–16 | Defense + special teams | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | 10/18 | Pittsburgh | L 19–26 (OT) | Special teams | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | 10/25 | @ Carolina | W 43–13 | Inactive | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| 8 | 11/01 | Atlanta | W 16–0 | Inactive | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Total | Through W8 | Tampa Bay | Team 3–5 | 3 appearances; 5 inactive | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 |
G = games played; GS = starts; DEF = defense; ST = special teams. Inactive means no game appearance; a dash marks a nonappearance in the snap columns. Scores show Tampa Bay first; @ means an away game and OT means overtime.
NFL postseason: Garnes has no NFL playoff appearances at this update. His rookie season is underway; the 2026 postseason has not begun. His college postseason appearances are shown separately below.
August 2026 • The exhibition schedule
The summer work behind the introduction
The interception return is the play most fans will remember from the Jets game, but Garnes also recorded three defensive tackles and a tackle for loss. Together, those contributions show more of his evening than the touchdown alone. The preseason table keeps that work in its proper place as part of the summer evaluation. The club’s account of his performance.
2026 preseason statistics • separate from the regular season
| Date | Opponent | Tampa Bay result | G | GS | Solo | AST | Tackles | TFL | PD | INT | INT YDS | INT TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08/14 | @ New York Jets | W 24–16 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 47 | 1 |
| 08/22 | Kansas City | W 16–15 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 08/28 | @ Jacksonville | L 0–19 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Tampa Bay | Team 2–1 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 1.0 | 3 | 1 | 47 | 1 |
All tackles shown are defensive tackles. AST = assisted tackles; TFL = tackles for loss; PD = passes defensed, including interceptions. His three PD consist of two pass breakups and one interception. INT YDS and INT TD are interception-return yards and touchdowns. He had no credited special-teams tackles in the preseason.
Final NFL gamebooks: 2026-08-14, 2026-08-22, 2026-08-28. The three exhibition appearances and the return touchdown are excluded from his regular-season record.
Duquesne • West Virginia • Arizona
The college record behind No. 24
His college career includes a particularly quick introduction of its own. On September 2, 2023, Garnes intercepted a pass on the second play from scrimmage and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown against Edinboro. Duquesne went on to win 49–7. Long before the Jets return, he had shown how a defensive read could give an entire sideline an early lift. Duquesne’s opening-day recap.
That season ended with first-team All-NEC recognition. He was one of ten Duquesne players to earn all-conference honors, alongside a coaching honor for Schmitt. The award identifies a completed achievement from his college career, while the annual table traces the production across each program. The conference announcement.
Across the three schools, Garnes finished with 41 appearances, 37 starts and 152 tackles. His five interceptions and 22 pass breakups show the ball production alongside those tackles. Each stop contributed to that record, from his first active season at Duquesne to his final bowl appearance with Arizona. The final school totals are linked below.
College season-by-season statistics • postseason included
| Season | School | G | GS | Solo | AST | Tackles | TFL | SCK | INT | PBU | FF | FR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Duquesne | 10 | 7 | 27 | 6 | 33 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2023 | Duquesne | 12 | 12 | 21 | 30 | 51 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| 2024 | West Virginia | 6 | 5 | 19 | 6 | 25 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | Arizona | 13 | 13 | 32 | 11 | 43 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | Three schools | 41 | 37 | 99 | 53 | 152 | 9.5 | 1.0 | 5 | 22 | 1 | 2 |
G = appearances; GS = starts; AST = assisted tackles; TFL = tackles for loss; SCK = sacks; PBU = pass breakups; INT = interceptions; FF = forced fumbles; FR = fumble recoveries. Sacks are included in TFL. PBU excludes interceptions: 22 breakups plus five interceptions gives 27 passes defensed. Garnes also blocked one kick in 2022. His 2021 redshirt season had no appearances.
Sources: final school cumulative records, Duquesne 2022, Duquesne 2023, West Virginia 2024, Arizona 2025. West Virginia’s final 2024 notes and original starting lineups confirm five starts in six appearances that season. College totals include both postseason games below.
An FCS playoff game and a bowl finale
Garnes started Duquesne’s November 25, 2023 FCS playoff game at Youngstown State, recording seven tackles in a 40–7 loss. His final Arizona appearance came in the Holiday Bowl against SMU on January 2, 2026, a game belonging to the 2025 season. He finished with a season-high nine tackles, including one for loss, as Arizona fell 24–19.
Those two starts produced 16 tackles and give his college record two different postseason settings: the FCS championship bracket and an FBS bowl game. Both are already included in their respective season totals.
College postseason appearances • already included above
| Date | School | Event | Opponent | Result | G | GS | Solo | AST | Tackles | TFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-11-25 | Duquesne | FCS playoffs — first round | Youngstown State | L 7–40 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| 2026-01-02 | Arizona | Holiday Bowl | SMU | L 19–24 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 1.0 |
| Total | Duquesne / Arizona | 2 appearances | Both opponents | 0–2 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 16 | 1.0 |
Sources: official box scores and participation records, Duquesne vs. Youngstown State, 2023-11-25; Arizona vs. SMU, 2026-01-02. He did not appear in West Virginia’s 2024 Frisco Bowl after his season-ending injury. These college appearances are separate from NFL postseason play.
Philadelphia roots • A donor’s decision
An opportunity to help beyond football
School, family and study
Garnes grew up in the Philadelphia area and played for Jack Muldoon at Monsignor Bonner. He earned Pennsylvania Football Writers’ first-team Class 4A All-State honors in 2020 and contributed as a receiver as well as a defensive back. His school biography identifies his parents as Jerelle Holden and Kevin Garnes and his brother as Bryce. His school and family background.
West Virginia lists communication studies as his major and recognizes him on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll and Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll. Those are documented parts of his student-athlete record alongside his time in the defensive backfield. The Mountaineers’ academic biography.
Answering a match
After participating in Duquesne’s donor-registration effort, Garnes learned that he matched a patient in need of bone marrow. He discussed the decision with his family and traveled to Boston to donate on January 4, 2023. Duquesne later nominated him for the 2023 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, recognizing his service. The university’s account and nomination.
In an Arizona interview, Garnes explained that a conversation with former defensive coordinator Michael Craig helped him understand why finding a donor could matter so much. He also described hearing from the recipient after the donation. His own account gives this part of the story its meaning: he had an opportunity to help, and he followed through. Garnes’s April 2025 remarks.
Carrying the effort to Tucson
His involvement continued after transferring. During spring 2025, Garnes joined Arizona Football in a donor-registration drive. KGUN’s reporting from the event recorded 345 swabs, exceeding the organizers’ goal of 250. It was a practical way to bring more potential donors into the registry, using the campus community he had recently joined. The report from the Arizona drive.
The next assignment
A new corner of the Krewe
A preseason touchdown makes an easy introduction. Garnes’s story also includes the less visible work around it: changing programs, learning another defense, taking coaching and staying ready for the next assignment. His professional record is only beginning. For Buccaneers fans, that makes No. 24 a player whose next chapter can be followed as it happens.
Sources & statistical notes
Updated November 3, 2026. NFL regular-season figures stop after November 1, Week 8. Preseason, NFL regular-season and college records are separate. College postseason figures are a subset of the college career totals.
- Player identity and roster: Buccaneers profile, Duquesne biography and Tampa Bay transactions.
- The preseason opportunity: Garnes’s account of the Jets interception, game recap and Licht’s roster assessment.
- College history: West Virginia biography, Arizona biography and final school records linked with the tables.
- Community work: Good Works Team nomination, Garnes’s firsthand remarks and Arizona registration-drive coverage.