Turns out Gabe Carimi won't be attending Chicago Bears minicamp after all.
NFL.com's Albert Breer reported Sunday that the Bears have agreed to trade Carimi to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a late-round draft pick, according to a source close to the player.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Bears will receive compensation in the form of a sixth-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. The Chicago Sun-Times had the first report of the trade, and the Bears later officially confirmed the deal.
The move ends a highly disappointing run with the Bears for Carimi, who has battled knee issues since being taken in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft (29th overall). He lost his starting job last season, then raised eyebrows by choosing to skip voluntary workouts last month so he could train on his own in Arizona. Carimi reportedly had been expected to attend this week's mandatory minicamp.
If he passes his physical on Monday, Carimi will be reunited in Tampa Bay with offensive line coach Bob Bostad, whom Carimi played for during his successful college run at Wisconsin. Carimi played right tackle and guard last season and likely will compete for a reserve role on the Buccaneers.
As for the Bears, Carimi goes down as a painful personnel blunder for the franchise.
UPDATE: The Buccaneers announced Monday that they had acquired Carimi from the Bears. In return for Carimi, the Buccaneers gave the Bears a sixth-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. The Buccaneers also said they had waived tackle Nick Speller.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.
