The Buccaneers have signed defensive tackle John Hughes, as Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Hughes has been a free agent since being released by the Patriots earlier this month. 
Hughes was cut loose by the Browns in September, a surprising move since he had several years to go on the lucrative extension he inked in 2015. Days later, he signed with New England, but his stay with the Pats lasted less than a week.
Hughes, a 2012 draftee, started just seven games in his first three seasons with the Browns and landed on IR in 2014 after suffering an MCL injury. The former third-round pick appeared in all 16 regular season games in 2015 and made three starts, totaling 24 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one fumble recovery, and one forced fumble.
After Gerald McCoy suffered a calf injury over the weekend, Hughes will provide Tampa Bay with some much-needed depth. As Auman notes, Bucs director of player personnel John Spytek was in Cleveland the year Hughes was drafted.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.