Buccaneers sign linebacker Larry Dean, center Ben Gottschalk

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have announced the signing of two veteran players: center Ben Gottschalk and linebacker Larry Dean.

Gottschalk's signing had earlier been reported by Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times. Gottchalk entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie out of SMU last year, spending the offseason with the Kansas City Chiefs. At 6'5", 293 lbs. he has very good size and should provide a little depth during the offseason, with the potential to do more than that.

Dean is more experienced, having spent four years in the NFL. He played for the Minnesota Vikings from 2011 through 2013, and was with the Buffalo Bills last year. He has 37 tackles, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in 61 career games, almost all of those tackles coming on special teams. He should provide some depth now that Brandon Magee has gone off to play baseball, and quality special teamers are always valuable to an NFL team. At 6'0", 226 lbs. he is pretty undersized, which means he'd probably fit best on the weak side, if he ever gets playing time on defense.