What was considered a weakness during the 2010 season, the defensive end battle just got a little more compeitive as the Buccaneers announced this afternoon the re-signing of Tim Crowder.

Crowder, 25, was signed to the Bucs active roster in 2009 after being cut by the Denver Broncos. Denver had drafted Crowder out of Texas in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft.

In his first season with Tampa Bay, Crowder played in 15 games with four starts. He had 3.5 sacks, 47 tackles, one tackle for a loss, 13 quarterback pressures, and one fumble recovery.

Last year the 6-foot-4, 260-pound Crowder was the Buccaneers starter at left defensive end for nine games after Kyle Moore left the lineup due to injury. He registered three sacks, 42 tackles, three tackles for a loss, one fumble recovery, and one forced fumble. Crowder was credited with four quarterback pressures, which was the lowest total of any of the Bucs starting defensive ends, including Moore and Michael Bennett who both started fewer games than Crowder. 



The former Longhorn will face stiff compeition for playing time with players like Alex McGee, Kyle Moore, Al Woods and Frank Okam, among others. In addition the Buccaneers added former Iowa Hawkeye Adrian Clayborn (first round, 20th overall pick) Clemson's Da'Quan Bowers (second round, 51st overall pick) and in this past year's draft to bolster one of the league's weakest pass rushes as Tampa Bay totaled just 26 sacks in 2010.

Crowder has a reputation as one of the hardest working players on the team with defensive tackle Roy Miller, a former college teammate.

In other transactions today the Buccaneers announced the signing of free agent quarterback Johnatan Crompton and kicker Jacob Rogers. To make room on the 90-man roster Tampa Bay released offensive tackle Quintin Borders and kicker Josh Jasper.

– Mark Cook contributed to this report