The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were active today, trading for former Buccaneer Sean Mahan earlier in the day for a 7th round pick and subsequently trading G Dan Buenning to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a conditional 6th round pick. Buenning was expected to back up Sears and Zuttah at the guard spots. Mahan started his career with the Bucs in 2003. He worked his way into the starting lineup in 2004 and started 36 games for the Bucs between 2004 and 2006, including all 16 games in 2005.
I'm not particularly surprised by this move. Since suffering a serious knee injury during the 2006 season, Buenning hasn't seen a regular season snap. He's been working hard to regain his pre-injury form, but a knee injury is something that not every player is able to fully recover from. Although Mahan is a little smaller than Buenning and has been acclimated to the 3-4 schemes prevalent in the AFC North, (where the 4-3 is used largely in the NFC), he's familiar with Jon Gruden's offensive and protection schemes and should be a more reliable option. At the end of the day, the Bucs must have had some serious concerns about Buenning's ability to stay healthy. I wish him the best in Chicago.