Schiano finally addresses the Kellen Winslow trade

After coach Greg Schiano and the Bucs decided to trade tight end Kellen Winslow to the Seahawks two weeks ago, Schiano declined to address his rationale for making the decision despite our best efforts to ask pointed questions on the subject.

But, as it turns out, Schiano did get around to talking about the subject, though in somewhat vague terms.

In talking to Chicago Tribune columnist Dan Pompei, for a story on nationalfootballpost.com, Schiano gave a sense of his thinking behind moving Winslow, suggesting that Winslow’s lack of consistent offseason attendance did, indeed, play a significant role.

“Some of it is voluntary,” Schiano said. “I can’t make them be here for every part. Would I have liked him here? Sure. We had 87 guys here. But that wasn’t the only reason we decided to do what we did. We just didn’t think it was the best fit for us. It was a bunch of things, an accumulation of things. Some of it is projecting, how will this project moving forward.”

Those comments came in the same conversation in which Schiano defined a “Buccaneer man” thusly: “Guys you can trust. Guys who believe in what we’re doing. Guys who are accountable to each other – things that are becoming more rare every day in our world.”

You have to wonder whether Schiano and the Bucs felt though Winslow could be accurately described as such. Something tells us the answer is no.


(tampabay.com)