Kellen Winslow is among the elite

TAMPA - His goal is to be the best tight end to play the game. Unfortunately for Kellen Winslow Jr., he can't even lay claim to being the best tight end of his era.

Tony Gonzalez has Winslow there, and most will argue Antonio Gates, Dallas Clark and Jason Witten are next in line after Gonzalez. That doesn't mean Winslow hasn't left his mark on the game.

Compare the numbers he has posted over the past four years to those during the same period by Gonzalez, Gates, Clark and Witten and there's no denying Winslow is in the elite class with them.

Catches - Winslow (291) has more than Clark (265) and Gates (285). Receiving yards - Winslow (3,293) has more than Clark (2,937). Touchdowns - Winslow (16) has more than Witten (14).

What does it all add up to? Just this: Though he may never be remembered as such, Winslow is clearly the tight end of his era who has done the most in his career with the least.

Winslow played the past four years on one good knee, the result of a motorcycle accident that, by the way, was just that, an accident. It's not like Winslow was trying to derail his career.

And it's not like Winslow has had the luxury of catching passes from elite quarterbacks the way Clark (Peyton Manning), Gates (Philip Rivers) and Witten (Tony Romo) have.

No, Winslow has spent the better part of the past four years catching passes from the likes of Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn. Then there was last year, his first with the Bucs.

Despite working with two-time castoff Byron Leftwich, untested second-year pro Josh Johnson and untried rookie Josh Freeman, Winslow caught a team-leading 77 passes for 884 yards and five touchdowns.

Not only was it the best season for a Bucs tight end, but it was the eighth-best season for a Bucs pass-catcher of any kind, which is actually somewhat fitting.

Winslow is not your typical tight end. He has typical tight end size, but even with those knees, he is still faster, more athletic and more powerful than most.

He can outrun most linebackers, outmaneuver most cornerbacks and overpower most safeties. It's no wonder the Bucs have chosen to treat him a little differently than most of their players.

Winslow has barely missed a practice this preseason, but the Bucs have chosen to keep him out of exhibition games to make sure he's as ready as can be for the games that count.

It's a controversial approach, one Bucs coach Raheem Morris vowed at the start of his tenure not to take with his players. But who's to argue with it? After all, when it matters most, few do more - with less - than Winslow.

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(tbo.com)