Tampa Bay Buccaneers sign infinity players, cut not as many

Well, I go away for most of one day (during which I saw the surprisingly awesome The Avengers film), and see what happens: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sign a bunch of players and cut a few more. Let's go through them.

Draft picks RB Michael Smith and Drake Dunsmore have signed four-year contracts

The first two draft picks to make it to the roster have been signed to contracts. As with every draft pick under the new CBA, they signed four-year deals. And as with every late-round draft picks, they signed for just a little more than the league minimum also known as 'peanuts' by NFL standards. Wage scale Rookie salary cap, hurray! Michael Smith could easily stick on the roster as a change of pace back, or as a returner. Dunsmore has a tougher road ahead, but could be a valuable receiving tight end.

WR Tiquan Underwood signs with the Bucs

Yep, the Bucs have signed the best hair in the NFL according to the Tampa Bay Times. Tiquan Underwood was with the New England Patriots last season, but was cut the day before the Super Bowl, re-signed a few days later, and then cut again. I bet the Patriots lost that game because Underwood wasn't on the roster. The hair hasn't done much as a receiver, but he's an experienced kick returner.

Underwood has that familiar Schiano connection, too: he's a former Rutgers player. Apparently, Schiano is starting a collection. A few players he hasn't nabbed yet: Gary Brackett, Kenny Britt, Ray Rice, Devin McCourty and Jason McCourty. You know, the best players to come out of Rutgers.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers sign 11 tryout rookies

The Bucs have signed a whopping 11 rookies for tryouts, including LSU QB Jordan Jefferson and, for some reason, a punter. No Rutgers players were spotted among the signings. Here they are, in alphabetical order:

Quintin Anderson, DE, Wagner
Sean Baker, S, Ball State
De'Anthony Curtis, RB, Arkansas
Eric Guthrie, P, Iowa
Jermarcus Hardrick, Nebraska< T
Jordan Jefferson, QB, LSU
Antonio Leak, FB, Henderson State
Jordan Nix, DT, North Carolina
Danny Noble, TE, Toledo
Moe Petrus, C, Connecticut
Myles Wade, DT, Portland State

The Bucs signed non-rookie tryout players CB Derrick Roberson and DE Hilee Taylor

In addition, the Bucs signed 'veteran' players Derrick Roberson and Hilee Taylor. Roberson is, of course, a former Rutgers player. Some may remember him for getting burnt to a crisp whenever he stepped on the field for the Bucs. Taylor played for North Carolina and has collected one sack since entering the NFL in 2008.

The Bucs waived 12 players to facilitate these moves

Here's the list of unfortunate players who were deemed not good enough to beat out tryout players. Yeah.

WR Luther Ambrose
LB Ryan Baker
LB Mike Balogun
QB Zach Collaros
S Ron Girault
C Chaz Hine
DT Donte'e Nicholls
T Trevor Olson
G Chris Riley
K Jake Rogers
CB Quenton Washington
T Rocky Weaver

By waiving Rocky Weaver, the Bucs have also lost the best name on the roster.

The Bucs will presumably have to waive a few more unfortunate souls to get under the 90-man roster limit. We'll see when they announce those.