J.J. Wilcox Traded to Steelers for Draft Pick After Buccaneers Sign T.J. Ward

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers needed to create a roster spot for safety T.J. Ward and reportedly did so by trading defensive back J.J. Wilcox to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

According to Jenna Laine of ESPN.com, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter the Buccaneers sent Wilcox and a 2019 seventh-round pick to the Steelers in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2018 draft to make space for Ward.

James Palmer of NFL Network first reported Tampa Bay was signing Ward, and Josina Anderson of ESPN noted it was a one-year deal.

Tampa Bay brought Wilcox aboard this offseason after Bradley McDougald joined the Seattle Seahawks, but the former never saw the field for the team during a regular-season game.

He was a member of the Dallas Cowboys for the first four seasons of his career and tallied 49 combined tackles with an interception last year. Three of his five career picks came during the 2014 campaign, although Laine explained he is more known for his physicality than his pure pass-defense skills and called him "a thumper."

Wilcox will provide depth to a Steelers secondary that finished a middling 16th in the league in passing yards allowed per game last season.