After watching several punters work out at One Buccaneer Place Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came away with a new punter, signing free agent Sam Paulescu to a contract.

Paulescu, 25, replaces Bucs P Dirk Johnson, who was placed on injured reserve Monday with a torn hamstring he sustained while attempting to execute a fake punt in Tampa Bay's 20-17 loss to Atlanta.

The Bucs chose to sign Paulescu over Danny Baugher, Ricky Schmitt and Durant Brooks, who also worked out for the team on Tuesday.

Paulescu originally entered the NFL out of Oregon State in 2006. He has averaged 42.4 yards per punt on 61 attempts. Paulescu has a career long of 70 with 15 punts placed inside the 20-yard line while kicking for Denver, Dallas and Washington.

The Bucs got a good look at Paulescu last year when they played the Dallas Cowboys. He made a key tackle on then-rookie return specialist Clifton Smith, who made his pro debut in Dallas and went on to make the Pro Bowl.

Click here to watch Paulescu's impressive hit and tackle on Smith in that game.

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