EARTH CITY, Mo. — It came as a shock to safety Mark Barron when he found out Tuesday he was traded from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the St. Louis Rams.

The seventh overall selection in the 2012 draft, Barron started 37 games for the Bucs. However, the personnel duo who drafted him — general manager Mark Dominik and head coach Greg Schiano — was fired after the 2013 season and replaced by Jason Licht and Lovie Smith, respectively.

With Smith implementing a new defense, Barron was still the team’s second-leading tackle with 49 after seven games. However, with Tampa Bay off to a 1-6 start, the Bucs accepted fourth- and sixth-round picks for Barron.

He arrived in St. Louis on Wednesday and came on the field about halfway through the team’s limited walkthrough practice.

Coach Jeff Fisher said, “We obviously liked Mark coming into the league. He was an outstanding college player. We thought he had a lot of ability, and whatever the reasons are down there, we had an opportunity to take advantage of getting a good football player.

“I spoke with him last night after we put the deal together. Obviously, he was surprised and shocked but excited about a new start. He’s got a lot of catching up to do. He’s going to be in time a very good player for us.”

Barron said, “Most definitely I’m shocked. I had no idea any of that was going on, but I am excited about this situation.”

While Barron said the change in defensive scheme to Smith’s Cover-2 concepts wasn’t a big adjustment and that the scheme was simpler, he did acknowledge it didn’t take advantage of his strengths as a box safety.

“I think we could have done more using me more,” Barron said. “It’s just the way that system is run. I feel I’m an athletic guy that I can do whatever I’m asked to do. I like to get involved more. And it’s easier to get involved when you’re in the box, especially when it’s early in the game.”

He agreed with the notion that the Tampa Bay defense was more passive in approach.

“That’s the only thing I didn’t like about it,” Barron said. “A lot of times I had to sit back and I couldn’t really be as aggressive as I wanted to in that system.”

Fisher added, “He’s a smart, instinctive football player. He’ll hit you. He understands angles. Gosh, he was a first-round pick, and for whatever reason it didn’t work out or they felt like he didn’t fit in the system. We’ll find a way to fit him into our system at some point. I don’t know whether that’s a week or six weeks or next year, but we need depth at the position, and we’re banged up a little bit. It was an opportunity that we couldn’t pass up.”

Although Fisher talked about the future, he said Barron might be able to play this week against the San Francisco 49ers.

“I wouldn’t rule it out whatsoever,” Fisher said. “Whether it’s special teams or a role on defense. He’s just meeting people now for the first time, so we’ll see how quickly things go this week.”

Barron said, “I’m looking forward to coming in and having an impact.”

As for his role, Barron said he didn’t know yet, but is confident he could play this week if needed. He pointed out that he has played both free and strong safety.

“Depending what they ask me to do, I can most definitely play as long as they let me go out there and play football,” he said. “I feel like I can, but I don’t know yet what they want me to do. But I’m ready and willing to do whatever they need me to.”

Fisher added, “It’s an opportunity to get a good player on this roster for the future. Whenever and wherever he plays, I can’t answer that right now, but we’ve got a good player.”