Free Agency Acquisitions

The Bucs made a few high profile FA signings during the off season some of which seem to be in areas of the team I felt we didn’t have a need. I certainly didn’t see that the Bucs had glaring holes at either RB or TE but LB was certainly a hole after the departures of June and Brooks. The Bucs were linked heavily with a number of QB’s, both Jay Cutler and Brady Quinn had been linked but the Bucs settled on Byron Leftwich to give McCown a fight in Training Camp.

Derrick Ward certainly bolsters the RB core, but it does make me wonder what the future holds for Cadillac. He came back well from the horrific knee injury before being injured again. Either the Bucs feel he’s not the player he once was or that he’ll be too injury prone to be a reliable back up. Certainly with the size of the interior O-Line and with Graham and Ward in the backfield it won’t be ‘Smash and Dash’ it’ll be more like ‘Smash and Bash’. Ward was a great complement to Jacobs in NY and i’m hoping he’ll make the same impact for the Bucs.

The signing of Kellen Winslow was a real WTF moment. I felt comfortable with the TE core last year and although not in the top tiers in the NFL they delivered what was required. It’s an interesting signing especially when you factor in the signing of Ward. The signing of Ward seems to suggest we’re going to be a smashmouth type of team, but then why sign one of the best pass catching TE’s in Winslow ? Only time will tell how the team are going to use Winslow. For me, Winslow is the #2 reciever on this team behind Bryant as neither Stovall or the re-signed Clayton are a true #2 WR for me. It’s vital that the Bucs figure out the best way of using Winslow.

Crowell has suffered a few injuries with the Bills and I hope he can stay fit. He’s a  got a combination of size and speed and is a physical tackler and should provide a good partnership with Ruud. He’ll be competing with Adam Hayward and Quincy Black for the strong side spot but fancy he’ll be the starter come game 1.

The Bucs seemed to have given McCown the QB job with his new contract, however bringing in Byron Leftwich does muddy the waters somewhat. McCown has had some moments where you think he’s capable of being a starter and then others where you think he’s only good to hold a clipboard. Leftwich brings starter experience from his time with Jacksonville and Pittsburgh and should push McCown for the starters job.

Bucs FA Signings..

Player	Pos.	FA Type	Ht.	Wt.	Exp.
Angelo Crowell	LB	UFA	6-1	246	6
Niko Koutouvides	LB	Released	6-2	238	6
Byron Leftwich	QB	UFA	6-5	250	7
Mike Nugent	PK	UFA	5-10	190	5
Derrick Ward	RB	UFA	5-11	228	5