He was an accomplished college pass rusher and they were looking for more pass rush. Always looking for more pass rush.
Its not that hard to understand why they gave him a chance. My bet is they did not think he would be a contributor in Year 1 anyway, so they had two training camps to try to fit him in.
I think Jayrone Elliot's emergence had something to do with the position switch.
"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." -Daniel Patrick Moynihan