The Bucs are encouraged that guard Arron Sears has returned to the team but general manager Mark Dominik said it would be 'wishful thinking,' for the third year pro to contribute in 2009.

“I would say it would in my mind wishful thinking to think he could contribute this year because he has to get in football shape, number one,'' Dominik said. "He’s got to get comfortable in a playbook that he doesn’t know, number two. And that’s a lot to ask over the last seven weeks of the regular season.''

Dominik said Sears will be working with strength and conditioning coach Kurtis Shultz and will not practice with the team or attend meetings, even though he is eligible to do so. The Bucs also are not making Sears available to the media this week.

The Bucs have a two-week roster exemption with Sears before they have to decide to place him on another reserve list or activate him.

“It’s been a difficult process,'' Dominik said. "He’s spent a lot of time working through this and I would say over the last couple weeks it’s kind of come to this date where we were comfortable enough.

Dominik said the Bucs put Sears through a conditioning test last week and he wasn't in shape.

“Not great. I mean the guy hasn’t played organized football since early April, so he needs to work on getting himself in physical condition,'' Dominik said.

“The only thing I can say is I’m proud of Arron, his family, his agent for working through that and the league has helped as well. It’s a combined effort.