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| Price was dealt to Chicago on Thursday. (US Presswire) |
The Buccaneers traded defensive tackle Brian Price to the Bears for an undisclosed draft pick, the team announced on Thursday.
Price, the 35th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, played well last year but has been dealing with some on- and off-field issues. He reportedly got in a scuffle with 2012 first-round pick Mark Barron during a team meeting and hiss sister passed in May during a hit-and-run automobile accident.
The defensive tackle, per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, declined to discuss the altercation with Barron, but clearly is still dealing with the aftershock of his sibling's death.
"I'm doing better, I've been working out well," Price said recently. "I'm feeling better than I've been in a while, even though I have a lot going on. I'm still trying to grieve and trying to cry. Today I had a breakdown, because it hit me again she's gone."
Price played well during the 2011 season, when he started 14 games and played in 15, recording three sacks. But he's the latest defensive-line investment of the Bucs from the 2010 and 2011 draft classes who hasn't panned out that well.
Gerald McCoy's dealt with injuries, Da'Quan Bowers simply can't stay healthy, Price has had injuries of his own and now is headed out of town. Adrian Clayborn has a lot of upside and could break out this season, but it'll be a lot harder if he's the only member of the defensive-line core who's healthy and/or on the roster.
Depending on the draft pick (assuming "undisclosed" won't equate to "high"), it's pretty much a sunk cost for the Bucs. For the Bears, it's a pretty solid gamble that Price could pan out into a contributor on the defensive line at a relatively low cost.
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