The Tampa Bay Buccaneers released veteran defensive tackle Amobi Okoye with an injury settlement Friday while waiving recently acquired wide receiver Jordan Shipley among several decisions that pared the roster down to the 53-man list.
Okoye, a first-round pick of Houston in 2007, signed a one-year contract with the Buccaneers in April after recording 27 tackles and four sacks over 16 games as a situational player in Chicago last season, but had missed considerable time during the preseason while recovering from a knee scope.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the Bears are in the process of finalizing a deal with Okoye to bring the 25-year-old back to the team.
Shipley, a third-round selection of Cincinnati in 2010, has also been dealing with injury problems. The slot receiver tore his ACL in the second game of last season and has had a slow recovery, causing the Bengals to place him on waivers on Aug. 17. He was picked up by the Bucs three days later.
The former University of Texas standout caught 52 passes for 600 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie with Cincinnati.
Tampa Bay also released defensive tackle Frank Okam and waived safeties Larry Asante and Sean Baker, wide receivers Landon Cox and Tiquan Underwood, linebackers Rennie Curran and Jacob Cutrera, tight ends Drake Dunsmore and Zack Pianalto, kicker Kai Forbath, offensive tackle Jermarcus Hardrick, running backs Robert Hughes and Mossis Madu, fullback Cody Johnson, defensive linemen Jordan Nix, E.J. Wilson and Teryl White, center Moe Petrus, quarterback Brett Ratliff and cornerback James Rogers. In addition, guard Desmond Wynn was waived/injured.
Underwood saw action in six games with New England last season and was famously released by the Patriots the night before Super Bowl XLVI back in February.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.