Lovie Smith praises new Buccaneers guard Rishaw Johnson

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded for offensive guard Rishaw Johnson earlier today, giving up safety Kelcie McCray in the process. Lovie Smith had a press conference right after that trade was consummated, so he got a good chance to talk about their latest acquisition.

"[He'll be] an offensive guard for us. He's played a little bit of center also, so it gives us a little flexibility there," Lovie Smith said.

"Just a big athlete - young, looked pretty good on video. Don't know a lot about him right now, but everything has checked out. Again, whenever you get a chance to add a big, young athlete, you have to be pretty excited about that."

"He has good video. It's not like he's some guy we're trying to search for. Being on an active roster for a period of time with Seattle and Kansas City, we know those guys. And, of course, he's a good player."

The Bucs have struggled to get quality play at their guard position this preseason and offseason, although at least last week represented a bit of an improvement. Despite coming into this process rather late, Johnson should have a chance to unseat Oniel Cousins or Patrick Omameh as starters. At minimum, he'll give the Bucs a versatile backup who can play multiple positions.