Wallace Gilberry Signs With Bucs

Wallace Gilberry is now a Tampa Bay Buccaneer.

We kind of knew this news was coming but that doesn’t make it sting any less. For a time, Gilberry looked like an absolute steal. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent and during a time when the Chiefs could hardly muster a sack to save their lives, Gilberry joined Tamba Hali as one of the team’s only reliable pass rushing threat.

And he wasn’t even a starter.

Gilberry was kind of a victim of unfortunate circumstances. He was picked up by the Herm Edwards regime when the Chiefs were still running a 4-3 defense. The next season, however, Herm Edwards was gone and so was the 4-3 defense. Gilberry was kind of a fish out of water in the 3-4. He wasn’t quite fast enough to play OLB and was too small to handle the run at DE.

Despite all that, Gilberry managed 7 sacks in 2010, which was second highest on the team. He did so as a sub-package pass rusher. He also added 4.5 sacks during the dismal 2009 season.

In 2011, however, Gilberry took a step back. In 2011 he saw his role diminish significantly and he only registered 10 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Part of this may have been that Gilberry added some weight for the 2011 season in an attempt to be a better fit in KC’s 3-4 scheme.

Personally, I thought the Chiefs should have tried to trade Gilberry to a 4-3 team following the 2010 season. I feel like they could have gotten upwards of a fourth-round pick for him. After last season, however, his stock was lowered.

I expect big things from Wallace in Tampa Bay. Don’t be surprised if he joins Jason Babin as a former Chief who hits hit big elsewhere.

I don’t blame the Chiefs for letting Gilberry go. They have considerable coin invested in Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey and both of those players are better against the run in the 3-4 than Gilberry would have been. Still, I wish they would have found a better way to utilize Gilberry in in 2011.

What do you think, Addicts? Will Gilberry make it in Tampa Bay?