Greg Schiano wanted to make a statement about the future of the Tampa Bay Bucs and how things are going to be for the players. I don't blame him, since he got the job because ownership thought things were way to loose last year.
As we all know, Kellen Winslow is now gone and Dallas Clark is in as a Bucs tight end. It kind of reminds me of the famous story of Packers center Jim Ringo going into Vince Lombardi's office and asking for a raise. Lombardi left the office for a short period of time and came back to tell Ringo to ask his new boss (the Redskins) for the raise.
The real winner in the Winslow decision has to be the Seahawks. They gave very little compensation for the fourth-most targeted tight end in the NFL last year behind Jimmy Graham, Brandon Pettigrew and Rob Gronkowski.
There was speculation no one would trade for Winslow with his contract, but keep in mind it is an unguaranteed deal with three years left on it. The Seahawks could cut him this summer and only be out a seventh round pick. They could easily recoup a seventh by trading down in the sixth round next year. By trading for Winslow, Seattle didn't have to get in a battle with any other team for his services, which made it a no-brainer.
From a football perspective, the Seahawks just became a dangerous 12 personnel team (1 running back, 2 tight ends, and 2 wide receivers). With Winslow, Seattle gets a hybrid player that can create matchup problems for most opponents.
In the last three years Winslow hasn't missed a game, he has 68 receptions on third downs, 74 receptions and six touchdowns in the fourth quarter and 163 receptions and 10 touchdowns when the Bucs were losing.
No signing bonus! No guaranteed money! The Seahawks picked up Marshawn Lynch a few years ago in a trade for a fourth-round pick and how did that work out for them?
