Former Buc turned Patriot drives patients when not on the field

(FOX 13) - Once a Buccaneer, Bernard Reedy is a football player first.

A very close second is his job at Care Ride LLC, based out of Clearwater.

"These are folks, that for some reason or another, aren't really able to get themselves around," said Vince Cocks, the company's operations manager.

In the offseason, or when he's between teams, Reedy spends his time driving around disabled and sick patients who need an extra hand. 

"I don't think most young adults would do that," said Care Ride's administrator, Doug Johnson. "So you got to have a tremendous family background and character to come back and work."

"For the most part, they don't know that he's a football player," added Cocks. "He may  mention it to them, they're like, 'Yeah, sure. What are you doing here at Care Ride?'"

He's there because he cares. 

Reedy was there when Florida prepared itself for Hurricane Irma.

"Bernard's always been that kind of guy that was simply there to help," said Cocks.

When most Bucs players evacuated out of harm's way, he stayed behind to help patients evacuate or get to last-minute appointments before the storm.  

Reedy spoke about why he did it last year when he was still with the Bucs. 

"You've got people who can't help themselves, so I felt like I needed to get them in a safe place. I'm able to run and stuff, and so many people can't run," he explained.

"For the four hours he worked in the afternoon, it helped a lot," said Johnson. "We were losing drivers who wanted to leave and he stayed and you know, chipped in." 

And on Sunday, he'll try to chip in during the biggest game of them all, when his new team -- the New England Patriots -- take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 52. 

Reedy will have a lot of new Patriots fans watching him.

"Patriots, and I sure hope Bernard plays, and plays very well," said Cocks. "I know if he gets in there, he'll play so well."