PewterReport.com can confirm that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed tight end Chase Coffman to a one-year, $540,000 contract. Coffman was the third-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2009, and was viewed as a potential first-rounder before he broke his foot late in his senior season at Missouri.

Coffman has struggled to regain his pre-injury form and has been a bust thus far in his NFL career. In three seasons in Cincinnati, Coffman appeared in just six contests in the 2010 campaign, catching only three passes for 30 yards. He was inactive for the first 12 games of his NFL career in 2009 and then was placed on injured reserve in December of that year due to an ankle injury. He failed to make the Bengals active roster in 2011 and spent that season on the practice squad. In January, he was the only Bengals practice squad member that was not signed to a future contract and he became a free agent.

The Lee's Summit, Missouri native is good friends with Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman and worked out for the Bucs in February before signing with the team on February 21. Coffman's brother, Carson, was the starting quarterback at Kansas State University after Freeman left early for the NFL following the 2008 season. Coffman's father, Paul, was an NFL tight end in Green Bay and Kansas City from 1978-87.

At 6-foot-6, 257 pounds, Coffman is a big target in the passing game, but needs to find a way to become a producer like he was in college in order to salvage his NFL career. Coffman won the 2008 John Mackey Award for the nation's best tight end in college football after catching 90 passes for 987 yards and 10 touchdowns, which were all Missouri single-season records for tight ends. He finished his college career with 246 catches for 2,651 yards and 30 touchdowns.

The Buccaneers now have five tight ends on the roster, including starter Kellen Winslow, Luke Stocker, who was last year's fourth-round pick, Zach Pianalto, Collin Franklin and Coffman.