Winslow proves to be worth risk

Tight end has been team's best offensive performer.

By ROY CUMMINGS

The Bucs

NEW ORLEANS - Like just about every other move they made this year, the Bucs' decision to trade a pair of draft picks to the Cleveland Browns for tight end Kellen Winslow raised a few eyebrows.

And well it should have.

The Bucs included their second-round pick in the 2010 draft in that package deal, and at the time it seemed as if they had given it away for what amounted to a bomb in a suitcase.

Though highly skilled, Winslow came with baggage, including concerns about the status of his right knee, which has been through at least six surgical procedures since he injured it in a motorcycle accident in 2006.

There were also lingering questions about Winslow's character, the reason for his absence from a handful of games last year and his strong desire to be granted a new contract.

The move seemed to be laden with risk for the Buccaneers. But it's impossible to say at this point in the season that the rewards have not outweighed the risk.

Winslow has arguably been the Bucs' best and most consistent offensive performer this season.

With two games to go, he is on pace to turn in the most productive season by a tight end in team history.

He already has more catches (68) than any other Bucs tight end. With 752 receiving yards, he needs just 35 more to break Jimmie Giles' 1981 team record for most yards in a season by tight end.

He has done that, by the way, while playing for two coordinators and with three quarterbacks. But there has been a constant for the Bucs and Winslow that has gone mostly unnoticed.

Shortly before finalizing the deal with Winslow, the Bucs hired Winslow's former tight ends coach with the Browns, Alfredo Roberts, to fill that position here.

It was a move few took note of, even after Winslow signed a six-year, $36.1 million contract extension, but it truly was something of a masterstroke.

You see, Winslow has long praised Roberts for the work he has done in polishing his game. So, the risk the Bucs took in acquiring Winslow was well calculated.

"He's always created a great working environment for me," Winslow said. "He lets me do what I do, but he stays on me, too, and he really coaches you up on the details."

Roberts still has some detail work to do. After all, Winslow is not quite a complete tight end yet.

He still doesn't block the way teams would like, and he could fight for more yards after the catch on occasion.

The Bucs aren't griping, though. Winslow has always been something of a hybrid at the position.

He is more like a receiver in a tight end's body, and that's pretty much how the Bucs have been and will keep using him.

There are sure to be some changes on the offensive side of the ball before the 2010 season begins, but Winslow won't be a part of them.
Though that right knee will always be something of a concern, Winslow has proven himself well worthy of the risks.

Click here to order Kellen Winslow’s proCane Rookie Card.



(foxsports.com)