Buccaneers Sign TE Nate Byham, Release DE Jeff Charleston

Well, Jeff Charleston got a game check for his efforts, despite not playing a single down or even special teams play since being signed last week. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have decided that Daniel Te'o-Nesheim and George Johnson are adequate replacements for Adrian Clayborn, who was moved to injured reserve earlier this week. Te'o-Nesheim and Johnson took 74% and 48% of the defensive snaps against the Redskins respectively, and it looks like that will be the plan going forward.

Meanwhile, the Bucs aren't satisfied with their tight end play so far, and rightly so. Dallas Clark is a poor blocker and hasn't done much in the passing game, while Luke Stocker is next to worthless as a pass-catcher and is inconsistent as a run-blocker. Danny Noble has gotten about one snap per game, so he's not contributing much. The Bucs have signed tight end Nate Byham to combat that problem.

Byham was a sixth-round pick for the San Francisco 49ers in 2010, but after missing all of 2011 due to injury the 49ers released him earlier this year. Byham is supposedly a good blocker, and he actually started three games for the 49ers in 2011. Byham played for current Buccaneers tight ends coach Brian Angelichio in college, when the latter was a coach at the University of Pittsburgh.