When former first round draft pick Gabe Carimi decided to skip the Chicago Bears' voluntary offseason workouts there were whispers in Chicago that he was on his way out of town. The whispers turned to reality on Sunday when Carimi was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a sixth round draft pick in 2014, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Carimi's departure will mark the end of the Jerry Angelo era as the Bears no longer have any of their first round draft picks taken by the former general manager between the years of 2002 and 2011, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The Outland Trophy winner had been a star as a Wisconsin Badger and was readily embraced by Bear fans at first. After having difficulty staying on the field in his first two seasons fans soured on the offensive tackle. Carimi had only played two games at right tackle for the Bears before he suffered a season-ending knee injury. After having surgery on the knee in December 2011 Carimi never seemed to be fully recovered during his second season, although he did start the first 10 games of the year before losing his job to Jonathan Scott, according to ESPN.
First year Bears coach Marc Trestman and general manager Phil Emery have made rebuilding a porous offensive line one of the top priorities in the offseason. With the 20th overall pick in the draft the Bears took Howie Long's son, offensive guard Kyle Long. In addition they have signed free agents Eben Britton and Matt Slauson to bolster the line, according to ESPN.
Trestman didn't think that Carimi should be playing offensive tackle in the NFL; instead he thought that he was a better fit at guard. The franchise apparently decided that it would be easier to give Carimi a fresh start on a new team instead of finding out if he could learn to play a new position, according to ESPN.
Carimi probably won't be the starter when he arrives in Tampa Bay either; the club just signed Demar Dotson to a hefty contract to play right tackle. The Buccaneers are thin when it comes to back-ups so Carimi should see some playing time, according to the Chicago Tribune.
