Buccaneers sign Charles Sims to four-year contract

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed rookie running back Charles Sims to a four-year contract. The third-round draft pick is projected to be the Bucs' third-down back and will be used in a timeshare with Doug Martin. Sims racked up 3,465 rushing yards and 40 touchdowns on 592 carries in a five-year college career at Houston and West Virginia. He was also a ridiculously prolific pass-catcher, with 203 catches for 2,108 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Rookie RB @csims34 signs his contract to officially become a member of the #Bucs http://t.co/CT11hL88g9 pic.twitter.com/2spZvz7cRL

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@TBBuccaneers) June 12, 2014

Over The Cap's estimates, which have been spot on so far, project a four-year, $3,092,392 contract for the rookie running back, including a $684,092 signing bonus. That contract would feature base salaries of $420,000 in 2014, $555,300 in 2015,  $662,500 in 2016 and $770,500 in 2017. Over The Cap can be so accurate in their estimates because there's really no wiggle room in negotiations thanks to the rookie wage scale introduced in the 2011 CBA.

The Bucs have been a bit slow in signing their rookie draft picks. That might be related to trying to prevent rookies from having money and time on their hands during their first offseason -- good old paternalism that seems to dominate the NFL. Some teams do that, but that doesn't mean the Bucs are one of the teams to reason like that, of course.

Second-round pick Austin Seferian-Jenkins is the only Bucs draft picks who has yet to sign.