Winslow's knees made him too risky to keep
It took three coaching staffs and front office regimes, but the Browns have finally decided Kellen Winslow is not worth the trouble. Coach Eric Mangini and GM George Kokinis dealt Winslow to the Bucs for an undisclosed group of draft picks. The move is a curious one for the Bucs. Clearly in the middle of a rebuilding effort, it's surprising to see them give away golden draft picks. Winslow is young, but he's got the knees of a veteran in decline after an insane amount of serious surgeries. He always plays through pain, but he missed six games last season and was only able to average ten yards-per-catch because of the injury. The Bucs were possibly stung by just losing out on Albert Haynesworth and wanted to show their fans they are still trying.
It's difficult to comment much further on the deal until we know what the picks were involved, but I would guess they include a first or second-rounder, along with a mid-round pick. The fans may dislike the move, but the organization is probably thrilled to recover draft picks dealt by previous GM Phil Savage.
Winslow is a reception machine that will help Tampa's shaky quarterbacks in the short term, but he doesn't figure to age well because of his knees. That's why Cleveland finally got rid of him after five tumultuous seasons filled with motorcycle drama, contract complaints, and absolute 100% effort. His health was no longer worth the risk for one rebuilding team. The Bucs disagree.
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As a long time Browns fan I am saddened, but not surprised at this move. Kellen was a great talent, but often let his own agenda get in the way of the team. Instead of being a 'tight end' he was more of a flanker or wide receiver as he was not much of a blocker at all. That and he was a hot head!
Steve Heiden has given the Browns a strong tight end that blocks and catches, especially in traffic. In addition, Rucker should turn out to be a talent as well.
Good luck to Kellen in his new home of Tampa! I also don't think he'd have fit in with the new Browns coaching staff. Then again, I am not sold on the new staff......there were better choices out there that could have come here, but I will let them prove me wrong. Seems like that's all Browns fans ever do is allow the new staff to try and prove us wrong........but they seldom do.
I also am a long time Browns fan that is still trying to decide how to respond to this move. I was excited about the 2004 draft when Winslow got picked and even more when Braylon was drafted. I thought it would be a great core to a rebuilding offense. Now I hope Braylon does not follow suit to Winslow and hope that the future draft picks will shine. I believe Steve Heiden is a above average TE with good hands and blocking to match.
I'm also a long time Browns fan. Yes, I saw Otto Graham play at the stadium. Happy to see K2 go. Need players with the mind set of Joe Jurevicius. I hope they trade Braylon as well. I think the jury is still out on Stallworth. Maybe he's a candidate to go. I hope you play this year Joe. We need you !
A second round this year and a fourth next year, we got more than K2 is worth. Braylon (hands of stone) is next. We should be able to get a third and a fourth for him if we can find another sucker like the Bucs.