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| Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 9:25 pm Post subject: Buccaneers Team Report |
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Buccaneers Team Report
Yahoo! Sports
Mar 31, 11:22 pm EDT
Quarterback Chris Simms has probably played his last game in a Tampa Bay uniform and expects to be traded.
Simms has decided to skip the Bucs’ offseason workouts, an indication he no longer fits into the team’s plans for next year.
Although the workouts are voluntary, Simms also skipped quarterback orientation last week for the first time in his career.
“I just think at this time it’s in my best interest to continue my own workouts and to just wait and see what happens with the team,” Simms said.
“I don’t really know what’s going to happen. We’ll see. As far as the Bucs and the quarterback position goes, it’s always an adventure.”
Simms, who has not taken a regular-season snap in 17 months since suffering a ruptured spleen in September 2006, says he is completely recovered from the effects of surgery, which forced him to be placed on injured reserve last year.
“I feel great,” Simms said. “I’m back to 100 percent and just excited about getting back on the field again.”
But Simms’ chances of returning to the field in a Bucs’ uniform diminished on Sept. 3 after the team traded a sixth-round pick in 2009 to Chicago for quarterback Brian Griese.
The most likely scenario is that the Bucs, who own just five draft picks this year, will attempt to trade Simms before the draft April 26-27.
Those discussions could begin this weekend at the NFL league meetings in Palm Beach. The Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings are among the teams that are in the market for a veteran quarterback.
The Bucs have six quarterbacks under contract - starter Jeff Garcia, Griese, Simms, Luke McCown, Bruce Gradkowski and Jake Plummer. The Bucs and Broncos have filed a grievance against Plummer, hoping to recoup more than $7 million in signing bonus.
Bucs general manager Bruce Allen could not be reached for comment.
Simms said he has split time between working out on his own in Tampa and traveling to New Jersey where he has thrown with friends and his father, former Giants Super Bowl quarterback Phil Simms.
“I’ve been going back and forth,” Simms said. “I feel great. All I can do now is wait. It’ll be interesting and we’ll see what happens.”
Griese, 33, would appear to the Bucs’ choice to back up Garcia, leaving McCown and Gradkowski to fight it out for No. 3.
But the Bucs believe they have value in Simms, who has earned $7.1 million in the last two seasons despite playing in just three games. Simms is in the final year of his contract and is scheduled to earn a $2 million base salary.
Ironically, it was Simms’ performance in 2005 that knocked Griese out of a job in Tampa Bay.
Notes, Quotes
• If the Bucs needed someone to endorse the signing of Saints free-agent center Jeff Faine, they only needed to ask Chris Hovan.
The Tampa Bay nose tackle had some epic battles twice a year with Faine - including a few after the whistle.
“We got into some really good battles, me and him,” said Faine, who became the highest-paid center in the NFL when the Bucs signed him to a six-year, $37 million contract that included a $12 million signing bonus.
“It got really chippy the last time we played. But it was fun. And that’s the thing I was trying to tell him, because it got kind of personal. I’m a competitor. I like to play hard, I like to play to the whistle and I when I first saw him when I got here, he said he’d rather I be here than have to play against me. It was just one of those things. We were just playing the game.
“Mostly it’s respected. Mostly it’s not taken personal. Mostly it’s just a long day, a hard game. That was one of the few times it was taken personal (against Hovan).”
• The Bucs have six quarterbacks on the roster - Jeff Garcia, Brian Griese, Chris Simms, Luke McCown and Bruce Gradkowski. Jake Plummer, who remains on the roster, remains retired.
But that glut of signal-callers will never stop Jon Gruden from looking at quarterbacks. That’s why the team plans to work out Michigan quarterback Chad Henne. He has drawn interest from the Dolphins, Atlanta, Seattle and Tampa Bay.
• Jeff Faine arrived to New Orleans from the Cleveland Browns about the time Hurricane Katrina had left the city in shambles.
“When I first got there I think the count was 25 street lights working,” Faine said. “You’d hit a street and the police were so busy with everything else that you go down the main drag at 100 mph and there would be no issues or street lights or whatever. I lived right downtown in a penthouse condo and I’d look out when I first moved in and it was darkness. It was creepy. It was different at first. But once everything got going, New Orleans is a special city. I am going to miss New Orleans. It’s a fun city, a lot of character.”
• Former Bucs defensive end Simeon Rice has never been camera shy, which might explain why a television production crew is filming his comeback attempt as part of a possible reality TV series.
Rice, 34, is second only to Michael Strahan among active sack leaders with 121. But a shoulder injury he suffered in 2006 forced him to be released by three teams last season—the Bucs, Broncos and Colts.
Last week, Rice said his shoulder is now “100 percent,” although he would only run for scouts during the University of Illinois Pro Day.
Rice has an interest in film-making and said, “I want to show people what happens to an athlete who has been on top of his sport, gone to Pro Bowls, won Super Bowls and now finds himself having fallen from grace. I want them to see the struggle for a great player to be great again.”
His film project aside, Rice says he wants teams to know he is serious about playing this season. He has had discussions with Lions coach Rod Marinelli. But the reality is he’s looking still looking for a team.
Strategy And Personnel
TEAM NEEDS/OFFSEASON STRATEGY
The Bucs have turned their focus to the draft. They will use the league meetings in Palm Beach to begin some dialogue with teams on trading Chris Simms. Other than that, the next few weeks will be spent attending pro days and working out potential draft picks.
1. Cornerback: With Brian Kelly opting out of the final year of his contract and signing a new deal with the Detroit Lions, the Bucs are thin at cornerback. Ronde Barber is 32 and Phillip Buchanon is in the final year of his contract. The Bucs have Torrie Cox and Sammy Davis to play reserve roles. The Bucs signed Pats safety Eugene Wilson, who could play cornerback.
2. Receiver: The Bucs entered the offseason saying they needed more playmakers on offense. So far, the only big offseason acquisition at wide receiver has been Antonio Bryant. The Bucs could take a wide receiver with their first-round pick.
3. Defensive line: Getting more pressure on the QB will be a big emphasis for the Bucs. DT Jovan Haye has done a good job against the run, but doesn’t excel as a pass rusher. Same with NT Chris Hovan. Veteran DE Marques Douglas was brought in to help and Kevin Carter was re-signed.
Medical Watch: WR Joey Galloway is recovering from shoulder surgery that prevented him from finishing the NFC wild-card game against the Giants. LB Cato June, who was injured in the final regular-season game, had foot surgery. Both are expected to participate in the offseason program. The most serious injury belongs to RB Cadillac Williams, who is recovering from a torn patellar tendon in his right knee. It is a 9-12 month recovery, meaning Williams will not be ready for training camp and may not play at all in 2008.
FRANCHISE PLAYER: None.
TRANSITION PLAYER: None.
UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS
• WR Mark Jones is coming off an ACL injury and could move on with the emergence of Michael Spurlock.
• RB Michael Pittman and his six-year career with the Bucs could come to a close as he looks for more opportunity.
• TE Jerramy Stevens has lots of personal issues he still is trying to resolve but has been on his best behavior with the Bucs.
• LB Jeremiah Trotter is a spiritual leader who was inactive most of the season.
• C John Wade is a 10-year vet who is the anchor of a young offensive line. Bucs will try to upgrade but Wade could return.
RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS
• DT Jovan Haye (tendered at $2.017M with 1st-round pick as compensation) is a starting under tackle who came out of nowhere to finish among the Bucs’ leading tacklers.
EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS FREE AGENTS
• DE Charles Bennett is a former seventh round pick in 2006 that played opposite Gaines Adams at Clemson on the defensive line. Adams was the Bucs’ No. 1 pick in ‘07.
• LS Andrew Economos is very accurate.
• WR Chad Lucas is a downfield threat who saw his first action following an injury to Maurice Stovall in 2007.
• S Donte Nicholson has enjoyed two stints with the Bucs as a special teams player.
• LT Donald Penn took over from injured starter Luke Petitgout and did an admirable job.
• WR Micheal Spurlock put his name in the history books with the first kickoff return for a touchdown in team history.
• FB Byron Storer is a backup fullback that did a good job when B.J. Askew was injured.
• DE Greg White was one of the biggest surprises. Former Arena League Defensive Player of the Year led the Bucs in sacks.
PLAYERS ACQUIRED
• DE Marques Douglas: UFA 49ers; 4 yrs, terms unknown.
• RB Warrick Dunn: FA Falcons; $6M/2 yrs, $2M guaranteed.
• C Jeff Faine: UFA Saints; $34.5M/6 yrs, $15M guaranteed.
• TE John Gilmore: UFA Bears; terms unknown.
• QB Brian Griese (trade Bears).
• LB Leon Joe: UFA Bills; terms unknown.
• LB Teddy Lehman: UFA Lions; terms unknown.
• LB Matt McCoy: Not tendered as RFA by Saints; terms unknown.
• TE Ben Troupe: UFA Titans; terms unknown.
• DE Jimmy Wilkerson: UFA Chiefs; 2 yrs, terms unknown.
• CB Eugene Wilson: UFA Patriots; $1.8M/1 yr, $500,000 guaranteed.
PLAYERS RE-SIGNED
• RB Michael Bennett: Potential UFA; $3.75M/3 yrs, $750,000 SB; 2008 cap: $1M.
• DE/DT Kevin Carter: FA, had been released by Buccaneers; terms unknown.
• LB Antoine Cash: Not tendered as RFA by Buccaneers; terms unknown.
• CB Sammy Davis: UFA; terms unknown.
• WR Paris Warren: ERFA; terms unknown.
PLAYERS LOST
• FB Mike Alstott (UFA; retired).
• TE Anthony Becht: UFA Rams; terms unknown.
• CB Brian Kelly: UFA Lions; 3 yrs, terms unknown.
• C Matt Lehr: UFA Saints; 1 yr, terms unknown.
• SS Kalvin Pearson: RFA Lions; $3.5M/3 yrs, $1.1M SB (Buccaneers elected not to match and receive no compensation).
• DE Greg Spires (released).
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