Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Buccaneers’ General Manager Mark Dominik has done it again. For the third time in four years, Dominik has taken the Chicago Bears to the cleaners in a trade. This time the Buccaneers acquired Gabe Carimi, OL, for a measly 6th round selection in next year’s draft.

Carimi is a former first round selection, but due to injury (hopefully that’s the reason) has been abysmal in the NFL, especially at right tackle..

The Bucs added something they needed badly in this trade. Depth. The Buccaneers have arguably one of the best group of 22 starters in the league, however it thins out real quickly after that. Carimi will help solve that along the offensive side in a big way. Along with Ted Larsen, Tampa Bay now has two bona fide starters who will be riding the pine come Week 1.

Carimi was a player who was much maligned in Chicago. The truth is, he wasn’t very good, however, there was another huge fact contributing to the formula. That being, the Bears offensive line as a whole was brutal. If you stuck Orlando Pace on that line, Cutler would still be scraping grass out of his facemask quite a bit.

Am I saying that Gabe Carimi is Orlando Pace? No, God no. But I am saying that he’s not as bad as what he looked in Chicago. The guy is a former first round pick and has had a hard time dealing with injuries.

I’ve heard people saying this is a ploy to put some pressure on Davin Joseph, be it financially or on the field. Well, it’d be hard to say that isn’t the result, however I don’t believe that was the plan Mark Dominik had in making this move.

I’ve also heard that Carimi could replace Davin right now. I know that wasn’t the plan. I know that can’t be true…

What Dominik wanted to do is make his 53 man roster better. He took people like Jace Daniels and Jason Weaver and shifted them down the depth chart. Carimi is not expected to start, but he is expected to be able to come in and hold up the fort when the inevitable injuries happen. O-Line depth is crucial, as a Buc fan you should know that as well as anyone, this move gives us a little more to hang our hats on.

He’s not going to start against the Jets. And hopefully we don’t ever see him play, because if he does it means someone else is hurt. But in the event that one of those very highly paid linemen do go down, the Bucs have a much more viable option now than they did a few days ago.

Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are not done with the 2013 roster yet, and that was made evident on Sunday when they reportedly agreed to a deal to bring in Gabe Carimi, an offensive lineman who was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the first round in 2011. The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that Carimi is on his way to Tampa to meet with team officials and likely to take a physical. Adam Schefter reports that the compensation for the Bears is a sixth round pick.

And we have a deal: Bears traded OL Gabe Carimi to Tampa Bay for a sixth-round pick in 2014.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 10, 2013

Carimi was a highly touted rookie coming out of Wisconsin in 2011, having won the Outland Trophy during his time with the Badgers, awarding him for being the best interior lineman in college football. He would play right tackle and right guard during his time in Chicago, but missed a good chunk of his rookie season thanks to a knee injury. When he returned to the lineup, he was inconsistent in pass blocking, allowing Jay Cutler to hit the turf several times in 2012.

He was also the center of some controversy, as he was planning on training away from the Bears’ organization this offseason, which may have been the spark that set off trade negotiations. His injury history and his falling out with the Bears means he became expendable, and the Buccaneers sought his versatility on the offensive line and were able to work out a deal to acquire him at a very affordable price.

So how does Carimi fit with the Buccaneers? He’s likely to push Demar Dotson for his job at right tackle, or provide depth on the right side of the line behind Davin Joseph and Dotson. Carimi was not fully healthy in 2012, so it’s unfair to deem him a total bust after just one season coming off a major knee injury. But he has a lot to prove, and clearly the Buccaneers believe he’s got some talent waiting to be discovered. In particular, his college offensive line coach, Bob Bostad, will try to reclaim the Gabe Carimi he knew during his time in Madison, and bring out the star offensive lineman he coached at Camp Randall.

Tyron Smith is built more like a power forward than a tackle.

Today we’re going to look at the big men, the guys in the trenches, we’ll have two installments of our big board covering the offensive tackles and the interior linemen in this year’s draft. If you need a tackle, this is a good year for that. The draft is deep with book-ends, including potentially five first-round caliber players at the top of the list.

The Bucs aren’t exactly looking for a tackle, but there is some uncertainty at the position. Donald Penn has the left side held down and after signing him to a nice extension a year ago the Bucs won’t be looking to replace him. On the right side things are less clear, Jeremy Trueblood fell out of favor as a result of injuries and penalties last season and James Lee played very well in his place. Lee is not a player the Bucs probably envisioned as their starting right tackle, the knock on him going into last year was he lacked upper-body strength (and reminded people a little too much of Kenyatta Walker). That spot on the line will probably be open to competition next season, but I doubt the Bucs look to add an offensive tackle unless it’s late in the draft.

Here are the top Offensive Tackles in the 2011 Draft:

1.) Tyron Smith, USC - Standing in at 6’5, 307 lbs, Smith is the top tackle in this year’s draft class. He combines prototype speed with tremendous athleticism and should be capable of playing at a high level for a while in the NFL. Smith is probably the best pass-blocker in the draft, his run-blocking is solid but he needs to learn to finish blocks more consistently and he has a tendency to get lazy at points coming off the line. Smith predominantly played right tackle in college and a lot of teams are discussing flipping him to left tackle, a position he’s capable of playing but will need some time to adjust to. Other concerns are his lack of football experience, at 20 he is just three years removed from high school and still very green. But make no doubt about it, this kid will be very good.

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