The Buccaneers have agreed to sign former Bears defensive end Mitch Unrein, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). It’s a three-year deal worth $3.5MM annually, reports Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter).
In 12 games this year, Unrein recorded a career-high 31 tackles and 2.5 sacks for Chicago. His season ended prematurely after he aggravated a nagging knee injury in a late season game against the 49ers. The 30-year-old previously had stints with the Chargers and Broncos.
Pro Football Focus, which had Unrein listed as an interior defender, gave him a career-high 83.9 score for his work in 2017. At the time of his injury, that placed him No. 29 among all interior defenders. Unrein will compete with Noah Spence, Pat O’Connor, and Davonte Lambert for snaps behind Robert Ayers and William Gholston.