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The Tampa Bay Bucs continued to cut into their massive amount of salary cap space today, keeping receiver Michael Clayton on the roster with a five-year, $24 million deal ($10.5 million is guaranteed money). Michael spent some time interviewing with the Lions and Vikings, but cancelled a trip to Seattle when he realized the weather in Tampa was really nice. Actually, the Bucs called him and told him not to get on any plane that wasn’t headed to Tampa. In other words, they gave him what he was looking for financially. Plus, the Bucs appear to have a good thing happening with new head coach Raheem Morris so why would Michael want to be anywhere else?

The signing means both Michael and fellow receiver Antonio Bryant will remain with the team in 2008 — which is a good thing considering both players were rather prominent in the Bucs’ passing attack last season. Antonio was, without question, the team’s top option (83 catches for 1,248 yards), but Michael managed 38 catches and was second on the team in yards per catch (12.7). Even with the addition of tight end Kellen Winslow, I believe Michael’s role in the Tampa Bay offense will be increased in 2009.

Source: Tampa Tribune, Photo: Newscom

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Bucs Keep Michael Clayton

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The Tampa Bay Bucs traded the always intriguing “undisclosed draft picks” to the Cleveland Browns for tight end Kellen Winslow today. Kellen’s introductory presser ended just about an hour ago and he said:

“I’m happy to be playing football, happy to have a job. You know, it’s tough. This is just a blessing. Cleveland was great to me (liar). I had a good time in Cleveland (liar) … But, this is a new opportunity.”

In signing with the Bucs, Kellen gets to return to the state of Florida where he spent his college career at the University of Miami. And it ends a five-year era of injury and controversy in Cleveland where, outside of the 2007 season, Kellen never lived up to his true potential. It’s almost as though his time in Cleveland was doomed from the start. Still, he managed 219 receptions for 2,459 yards and 11 touchdowns in 44 NFL games. But he’s only 25-years-old and hopefully the change of scenery will jump-start his career. The Bucs are certainly figuring that will be the case. As long as K2 can stay away from motorcycles and staph infection, he should be good to go.

Source: Buccaneers.com, Photo: Newscom

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Bucs Trade for Kellen Winslow

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Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow responded to his recent suspension with his own statement last night:

“First I would like to say that I am disappointed that my organization felt the need to suspend me for speaking out regarding my medical situation with staph. I take responsibility for the fact that there might have been a more constructive way to release this, but when I tried to do so I was discouraged from making the issue public. Regardless of how this was released the information would still remain the same. I contracted staph, again.

“I spoke out on this because I felt it was the right thing to do and that is why I was so passionate about it. This has nothing to do with football and this has nothing to do with my current contract situation. This is a health concern.

“Please understand I care deeply for my organization, my teammates, and the Browns fans. At no time was I ever trying to cause distress for the team or be a distraction but the fact remains there is a health issue that needs to be addressed further.

“I remain loyal to the Browns organization, my teammates, the fans and the city of Cleveland. I remain a hard worker on and off the field in support of my teammates and our goal to have a winning season. I hope to be a Brown for a very long time. I know that the organization and I can move forward and focus on having a successful season, which I believe everybody agrees upon.”

It’s like I said yesterday. I’ve got to agree with Kellen here. If the team was not going to come out with the truth, I guess he felt he had to. And no, the Browns did not post this statement on their Web site.

Source: NFL.com, Photo: Newscom

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Kellen Winslow Statement on Suspension

The Cleveland Browns suspended tight end Kellen Winslow for one game without pay for his recent comments that were determined detrimental to the team. Here is the full statement issued by Browns GM Phil Savage today:

“The Cleveland Browns are committed to winning and taking care of our players. We are also committed to protecting the privacy of our players, particularly with regard to medical issues. To that end, following discussions with Kellen Winslow and his representation, the Browns agreed to make every effort to maintain the confidentiality of his recent medical condition.

“As an organization, we have worked hard to ensure the safety and well-being of our players. Consistent with this effort, we have consulted the team’s medical experts to ensure that any instances of staph infections are evaluated and treated thoroughly and expeditiously, and in accordance with the recommended standard of care. Further, steps have been and continue to be taken on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis to protect our players and personnel at our training facility and stadium.

“During training camp, the entire team took part in an extensive presentation by experts in the field of infectious diseases. It was an educational meeting that informed players of the issues, how to prevent and minimize the risks of infection, and what preventative measures we as an organization had employed to assure maximum safety for the team combined with a Q&A session for the players. Kellen was in attendance at that meeting. Since that meeting, not one player has approached me, Romeo Crennel, or our medical staff with concerns as to how we have dealt with this issue.

“Kellen has expressed his desire to be a productive member of the Cleveland Browns. His comments and behavior on Sunday evening, however, were unwarranted, inappropriate, and unnecessarily disparaging to our organization. His statements brought unjustified negative attention to our organization, and violated the team-first concept of our football squad. Therefore, disciplinary action will be taken in the form of a one-game suspension without pay for conduct detrimental to the club.

“Beginning Wednesday, the focus of the coaches and players will be on preparing for the upcoming game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.”

Kellen’s teammates tried to talk him out of his tirade to the media, but Kellen decided it was worth $235,294 — his one-game paycheck — to speak his mind. This is a tough one. Mr. Savage’s statement makes it sound like — as a player — if you were at the scheduled educational seminar on how to avoid contracting a staph infection, you should be expected to not get a staph infection. And if you do — no matter what rumors are going around about your condition — the team will cover it up as an “undisclosed illness.”

The Browns weren’t protecting Kellen. They were protecting their own reputation. Nevertheless, Kellen should have kept his comments to himself and encouraged Mr. Savage to come clean with the truth about why he was in the hospital. If Kellen already went down that road to no avail and can afford to lose almost a quarter of a million dollars to tell his story, I say go for it.

Source: ClevelandBrowns.com

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Browns Suspend Kellen Winslow

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Whenever you hear “undisclosed illness” on an NFL injury report, you might as well go ahead and assume it’s a staph infection. OK, I’m only partially kidding, but such was the case with Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow last week. His recent “undisclosed illness” was kept quiet because the team has had an alarming number of staph infections over the past few years and they didn’t want the news getting out. This was Kellen’s second infection. His first case came in 2005 after surgery to repair a torn knee ligament in which he was hospitalized and lost almost 30 pounds. Then there was LeCharles Bentley, Joe Jurevicius, Braylon Edwards, Brian Russell and Ben Taylor. They’ve all been through staph infections while playing for the Cleveland Browns. So yeah, you could say there’s a problem with it in Cleveland. And it should concern the Browns players because staph is potentially deadly. Kellen was so distraught about the whole incident, he vented to the media after yesterday’s loss to the Washington Redskins:

“A big reason I’m upset right now has to do with the (staph infection). I heard from Romeo Crennel and I heard from my position coach (Alfredo Roberts) when I was in the Clinic. I heard from my teammates. But I never heard from the main man — Phil Savage — and that really disappoints me. Sometimes I don’t even feel a part of this team. I feel I’ve done a lot for this team, played through a lot of pain and given it my all. I just thought there’d be a little more ‘how are you doing?’ by him ….. There’s obviously a problem (with staph) and we have to fix it. Just look at the history around here. It’s unfortunate, because it happens time and time again ….. I’m just frustrated with a lot of things. I feel it’s been going on for a while. I don’t get treated right and it’s not fair. Sometimes I just feel under-appreciated. I felt it was time to say something ….. I give my heart and soul to this team. I just wish there had been a little more concern over this situation.”

Well, I agree with Kellen on the staph infections and yes, it would have been appropriate for Mr. Savage to visit Kellen in the hospital. Head coach Romeo Crennel said Kellen’s comments were a distraction to the organization and should have been kept within the team. I agree with that, but if the organization isn’t willing to protect one of their players with the truth (like why Kellen was really in the hospital), I don’t think Kellen had any other choice but to go to the media. I don’t blame him for being upset. As far as being treated unfairly and being under-appreciated — well, join the club, dude. It happens to all of us at one time or another.

I know the Browns are doing everything they can to get to the bottom of this problem. I’m not trying to beat up on the front office folks. But with their history and with two cases reported last month in San Francisco — and maybe more being kept under wraps — I wonder how concerned the league is?

Source: Cleveland.com, Photo: Newscom

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Kellen Winslow Had Staph Infection

Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow returned to practice today after being hospitalized for several days with an undisclosed illness and missing last week’s Monday Night Football win over the N.Y. Giants. Kellen decided to keep the undisclosed illness undisclosed:

“I’m not going to tell you exactly. It was really the Cleveland Browns decision to keep it undisclosed and I agree with that. Just because I catch a football doesn’t mean I should tell what’s wrong with me or what happened. I’m back and I’m happy to be back. I think I’m good to go. I just feel because I play professional football, it doesn’t mean I should let people into my personal business.”

I agree wholeheartedly. But if you take a look around the world wide web, you can pretty much figure out what happened. Not much is a secret anymore. Especially if you play professional football. But that’s really not relevant at this time. All that matters is that Kellen is well on his way to a full recovery and the Browns will need all hands on deck if they’re to continue their winning ways. The tough Washington Redskins are the next test for a Browns team trying to rebound from a disappointing 1-3 start.

Source: NFL.com

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Kellen Winslow Practices, Might Play

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So miffed is Kellen Winslow that he’s not the highest-paid tight end in football, he decided to skip the Browns’ recent OTAs. Of course, he didn’t actually come out and say that. Most would believe his absence was simply due to his recovery from a fourth knee surgery. But with Indy’s Dallas Clark making $42 million over six years ($27M in the first three years and an average salary close to $7M annually — making him the highest paid player at that position), I would think Kellen is upset. And he has a point. He had more catches last season (82 vs. 58) and made the Pro Bowl as an alternate. But Dallas had more than double Kellen’s number of touchdowns (11 vs. 5). Getting in the end zone is what it’s all about.

It’s kind of hard to compare these situations because Dallas was in the final year of his contract and Kellen still has three years left. And because of injuries, Kellen only played in two games his first two years in the league. Still, he’s put together back-to-back good seasons in ‘06 and ‘07. A third just might earn him the contract extension he’s looking for.

Source: Cleveland.com, Photo: Newscom

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Is Kellen Winslow Injured or Just Upset?

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The Cleveland Browns are doing more than staying competitive this offseason. The Browns are preparing themselves for a Super Bowl run. First, they locked up QB Derek Anderson for three-years yesterday. Then they got him another weapon on offense — former New England Patriots WR Donte Stallworth. The Browns are wisely building their team around their quarterbacks — Derek and Brady Quinn. GM Phil Savage said:

“Donte’ will be the major addition to our offense this year. He will bring legitimate speed, quickness and playmaking ability to the receiving corps and add a different dimension to the skill players we already have in place.”

He’s not kidding. Combining Donte with Braylon Edwards, Jamal Lewis, Kellen Winslow, Josh Cribbs, and Joe Jurivicius gives Cleveland a serious upgrade to the NFL’s already eighth-best offense (2007).

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Donte’ Stallworth Agrees to Deal With Browns

I wasn’t the least bit surprised to see Jason Witten grab a record 15 catches (including the game-winner) against the Detroit Lions yesterday, breaking a Cowboys’ single-game reception total and tying the NFL mark among TEs. This kind of outburst has been brewing for some time. Just take a look at his 2007 season so far. He had nine catches against the Bills (10/8) and 10 against the Vikings (10/21). And he had eight more against Washington just before Thanksgiving. Add ‘em all up and through the first 13 games and you get 80 catches for 955 yards and seven TDs. That’s ahead of guys like Tony Gonzalez, Kellen Winslow Jr. and Antonio Gates. Plus, he’s on a pace to shatter his own previous season-best in 2004 when he finished with 87 catches. When I talk about the new breed of tight end in the NFL, I don’t just mention Jason Witten. I call him the best there is.

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Dallas Cowboys TE Jason Witten Has Record 15 Catches in Win Over Detroit Lions