Kellen Winslow gets a 'personal' victory over his old team

TAMPA, Fla. -- He was the last Tampa Bay player announced at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, the final one to sprint onto the field for the season-opener. He carried a a bright red Buccaneers flag billowing on a pole and, like always, that perpetual chip on his shoulder.

He sprinted straight to the Browns' bench, and waved the flag in the faces of the team that drafted him and once called him the franchise's future.
What did you expect? It's Kellen Winslow Jr.

He's not exactly humble, and he doesn't really like to hide. The Browns knew he was there from the moment he stepped on the field, and they knew this game was special for him since it was the first time he was facing the team that traded him in February 2009.

"It's just having fun," Winslow smiled after watching his Buccaneers triumph, 17-14. "It's just having fun, and if you can intimidate them or get them out of their mind games, get them thinking about other stuff other than the game, I'm all for it."

After all, this is the same tight end who once boasted his play at 90 percent was "still better than any tight end out there," who infamously got in a motorcycle accident that cost him a season in Cleveland, who sparred with management over how he contracted a staph infection, and who might never live down proclaiming, "I'm a soldier!" after a college game when he was at Miami.

But just like the Winslow who spent five seasons in Cleveland, his brash behavior wasn't fully backed up by his performance on the field Sunday. He's returning from a reported sixth knee surgery in the off-season -- on the right knee that suffered a torn ACL in the 2005 motorcycle accident -- so it's another slow start to the season. He caught four passes for 32 yards, and one in the third quarter marked his 300th career reception.

He admitted he has "a ways to go" before he's fully recovered from the latest surgery, but was happy to revel in the triumph over the team that traded him.

"When you get traded or demoted, it's personal," Winslow said. "Yeah, you want to get some revenge and play as well as you can. But it was just all in fun."

That's why he waved his new team's flag in front of his old team. He knows Browns coach Eric Mangini simply wanted his "own guys" on the team after he was hired. But he was still more emotional than usual for Sunday's game.

"Kellen obviously wears his heart on his sleeve, and it was definitely there this game," said Bucs center Jeff Faine, who was drafted by the Browns in 2003. "He took a couple big hits, and he stayed in there."

Winslow said he only knows five players on this current Browns team. A total roster turnover in less than two years has left him with no animosity toward the players, but somehow still leaves him with a fire to topple the team where he earned Pro Bowl honors in 2007.

"I had a good time [in Cleveland]," Winslow said. "We didn't win very much over there, but when I got traded, it felt personal. I'm in a better situation now."

This time, he's even on the team that won.

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



(espn.com)