Lovie Smith press conference comments on Richie Incognito, Jeff Tedford, Jonathan Casillas

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made headlines Monday morning with the announcement that Richie Incognito would be brought in for a visit with the team. Lovie Smith got his chance to address the situation in his afternoon press conference.

Greg Auman of the Times quotes Smith as saying "It's nothing more than a visit" of Incognito's trip to Tampa, adding that the coach said he "believes in second chances." He also said that he wasn't ready to accept what he'd heard about Incognito from reports, but wanted to meet with him in person, and see what he's like face-to-face.

Scott Smith notes that Lovie told the media he wouldn't do something he believed would disrupt the Tampa Bay locker room, possibly the biggest concern with the possible addition of the former Miami player. Matt Baker of the Times added that Smith said he would consult the team's leaders if a signing were considered.

So overall, the commentary from Smith is that he wants to do his due diligence on a player that would fill a position of need, but at the expense of a good deal of risk considering his checkered past in both college and the pros. His actions will speak louder than his words in this instance.

Smith also passed along word that Jeff Tedford had a medical procedure and will be out for a short time. No further details were provided, and we certainly hope that Tedford recovers and rejoins the team soon.

He also clarified the status of Jonathan Casillas, who missed Saturday's game against Buffalo due to a violation of team rules. Smith said that he "didn't like" some things that Casillas did last week, but that he is back with the team after serving his punishment. Based on comments from earlier in the day from Matt Baker, it seems as if Casillas wasn't with the team for some sort of activity, and was punished as a result.

In other words, Casillas' issues are in the past, and don't seem too serious. However, it's certainly not a good sign for a player trying to hold off a camp star in Danny Lansanah for playing time.