Bears cut bait on Carimi, deal him to Buccaneers for 6th round pick

The Bears spent much of their offseason beefing up their offensive line in an effort to help protect Jay Cutler. But they’ve made a move Sunday that will thin out the corps, reportedly trading Gabe Carimi to the Buccaneers. Carimi flew to Tampa on Sunday and will be a Buc provided he can pass the physical.It looks like the Bears won’t get much in return from Tampa, as Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the compensation is just a sixth-round pick.That speaks highly to the scrutiny that Carimi’s been subject to this offseason. After the Bears went out and signed Jermon Bushrod to a big free-agent deal, they drafted Kyle Long out of Oregon in the first round to play guard.Just as Long was signing his rookie contract, Carimi was skipping voluntary workouts.And though Bears GM Phil Emery made a point to note that Carimi wasn’t required to attend those workouts, it became clear the 2010 Outland Trophy winner was upset about being squeezed from a starting job on the Bears line.Carimi was drafted to play tackle and started out his Bears career at the right spot, but after undergoing knee surgery during his rookie year, Carimi was moved to guard in his second season.With Matt Slauson at left guard, Long at right guard and Bushrod/J’Marcus Webb manning the tackle positions, there wasn’t a starting spot left for a first-round pick from the previous regime.As such, Carimi’s headed out of town. Though he might look like a throwaway at this point for the Bears, this is the type of move that could come back and haunt them if someone on their offensive line goes down early in the year.