Buccaneers sign Ishmaa'ily Kitchen, waive Elijah Shumate

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed defensive tackle Ishmaa'ily Kitchen and waived safety Elijah Shumate, the team announced. Kitchen adds some depth to what may be the shallowest position on the roster, as the Bucs have very little at defensive tackle beyond the top three of Gerald McCoy, Clinton McDonald and Akeem Spence.

Kitchen is a fourth-year veteran who played 40 games with three starts for the Cleveland Browns from 2012 through 2014. He managed a whopping 78 tackles during that time, but had no sacks, so we're not talking about a devastating pass rusher here. More likely, Kitchen was signed to  help the team's interior run defense and play some nose tackle, when necessary. The Bucs have Robert Ayers and William Gholston as defensive ends who can shift inside and play three-technique, but not nose tackle, so the latter position is where depth is most necessary.

Meanwhile, Shumate was waived/injured, as the undrafted defensive back has missed several weeks with injury. If no one picks him up, he'll revert to the Bucs' injured reserve list until they reach an injury settlement with him.