Bucs place DE Spence on injured reserve

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers placed defensive end Noah Spence on injured reserve Wednesday after he suffered another dislocated shoulder against the Buffalo Bills.

Spence, the Bucs' 2016 second-round draft pick, was injured in Sunday's 30-27 loss -- his fourth shoulder dislocation in the past two seasons, including two this year. The injury will require more surgery, the team announced.

The 6-foot-2, 251-pound Spence played in all six games this season, starting three, with nine tackles, one sack and one forced fumble.

The Buccaneers also signed defensive end Darryl Tapp and cornerback Deji Olatoye.

The 6-1, 270-pound Tapp is in his 12th season in the NFL, originally entering the league as a second-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in the 2006 NFL Draft. In his career, Tapp played for Seattle (2006-09), the Philadelphia Eagles (2010-12), the Washington Redskins (2013), the Detroit Lions (2014-15) and the New Orleans Saints (2016).

For his career, Tapp played in 162 career regular-season games (38 starts), recording 314 tackles, 28 sacks, 20 passes defensed, 11 forced fumbles, 10 fumble recoveries and two interceptions. He also played in six career postseason contests (two starts), registering 15 tackles, 2.0 sacks and two forced fumbles.

The 6-1, 205-pound Olatoye comes to Tampa Bay after spending time with the Atlanta Falcons over the past two seasons. He was on the Falcons' practice squad in 2016 before being promoted to the active roster. He originally entered the league as a college free agent with the Baltimore Ravens in 2014.

In his career, Olatoye played in 12 regular-season games, (two starts), recording 17 tackles, four passes defensed and one interception. He also played in three postseason contests with the Falcons last year.

In addition, the Bucs signed defensive end Marquavius Lewis to their practice squad.

The 6-3, 270-pound Lewis entered the league as a college free agent this offseason, signing with the Bills. The South Carolina product spent the offseason and preseason with Buffalo and was on the team's practice squad through Week 6.

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott and Buccaneers DE Noah Spence named NFL Rookies of Month for November​

Quarterback Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys and defensive end Noah Spence of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the NFL Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Month for November.

In completing 73.1 percent of his passes, Prescott also threw nine touchdown passes to no interceptions. He also had a 125.4 quarterback rating in that span, leading all other players for November.

Spence led all NFL rookies in sacks in November and was tied for second among all players in forced fumbles. Through 12 weeks, Spence has 5.5 sacks, which are the second-most in the league among rookies. His three forced fumbles on the year are also the second-most among first-year players.

OFFENSE: QB DAK PRESCOTT, DALLAS COWBOYS

DEFENSE: DE NOAH SPENCE, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

2016 NFL ROOKIES OF THE MONTH 

	Offense (College)	Defense (College)
September	QB Carson Wentz, Philadelphia (North Dakota St.)	LB Deion Jones, Atlanta (LSU)
October	RB Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas (Ohio St.)	DE Joey Bosa, San Diego (Ohio St.)
November	QB Dak Prescott, Dallas (Mississippi St.)	DE Noah Spence, Tampa Bay (Eastern Kentucky)

Noah Spence Signs Deal

Statement from the Buccaneers website.

With training camp still nearly three months away, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are down to one unsigned rookie.

Defensive end Noah Spence, the first of two second-round picks made by the Buccaneers in the 2016 NFL Draft, signed his first NFL contract on Thursday afternoon. Of the seven players drafted this year by Tampa Bay, only the other second-round selection, kicker Roberto Aguayo, still needs to complete a deal.

Five other draftees got their contract work done last weekend during the Buccaneers' rookie mini-camp, beginning with fourth-round safety Ryan Smith and fifth-round offensive lineman Caleb Benenoch last Thursday. First-round cornerback Vernon Hargreaves inked his deal the next day, with sixth-round linebacker Devante Bond following later that same afternoon. Finally, sixth-round tight end Danny Vitale put pen to paper on Saturday.

Draft-pick deals have been easier to complete since the new CBA in 2011 put a rookie salary structure in place. Still, considering that several of this year's picks - particularly Hargreaves and Spence - figure to see significant playing time in the regular season, it's helpful to get such distractions out of the way early. Spence, for instance, signed his deal after participating in a rookie field session as part of Phase 2 of the Buccaneers' offseason program. Soon, the Bucs will begin full-fledged OTA practices as Phase 3 begins.

Spence finished his college career at Eastern Kentucky, where he racked up 11.5 sacks, 22.5 tackles for loss and 15 quarterback hurries, 63 tackles and three forced fumbles last fall. Prior to transferring to EKU, Spence was the Ohio State Buckeyes' leading sacker in 2013 with 8.0, along with 14.5 tackles for loss and 52 tackles overall. Considered one of the best pure pass-rushers available in this year's draft, Spence was the 39th player selected overall.

Spence is one of two key additions made to the Bucs' defensive line this offseason as they seek to improve their pass rush significantly. The team also signed coveted unrestricted free agent defensive end Robert Ayers, who had nine sacks for the New York Giants last year. The Buccaneers are hoping to find their first double-digit sack artist since Simeon Rice in 2005.