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Dunn's the priority as Bucs go to market

Gruden is focused on him and other offensive players as free agency begins.

By RICK STROUD, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 1, 2002

TAMPA -- One look at his sideline glare tells you Jon Gruden is focused and his vision for the Bucs offense already is coming into scope.

When the start of free agency collides today with the beginning of the NFL scouting combine predraft workouts in Indianapolis, Gruden and his staff will continue to identify players on and off Tampa Bay's roster who fit into his plans.

Nowhere is Gruden's preference more apparent than in the offensive backfield, where re-signing free-agent running back Warrick Dunn is a stated priority amid reports fullback Mike Alstott is being dangled as trade bait and at best will have to restructure his contract to remain with the team.

"That is true of any position and very true of the backfield position," general manager Rich McKay said. "That is what Jon has spent a lot of time and a lot of tape on, and that is trying to figure out how does his offense lend itself to what we have and how to best utilize it.

"(Signing Dunn) is a priority in the sense that the coach, the other day ... brought it up in his press conference. I have had discussions with his agent. Warrick has had discussions with the coach. We know from history, once (today) comes, we are not in control of the situation. But we will pursue it and we will try to get that completed sooner rather than later."

The Bucs positioned themselves under the $71.1-million salary cap Wednesday by releasing tight end Dave Moore and restructuring the contract of at least one unidentified veteran player.

That maneuvering will enable them to retain defensive tackle Simeon Rice and cornerback Donnie Abraham. Rice, who led the team in sacks with 11 last season, is owed a $2-million roster bonus today and will count $8-million against the salary cap if his contract is not restructured. Abraham has one year remaining on a contract that will count $5-million against the cap next season.

"We are prepared from a salary cap standpoint to go forward with Simeon's contract as is and we would like to have Steve (White) back," McKay said, referring to the free-agent defensive end. "We could potentially make it more cap-friendly for ourselves should we be able to strike a deal. If we were not able to strike a deal, we could live with that (Rice) deal."

Alstott's future may be more cloudy. The Pro Bowl fullback has two years remaining on his contract that averages more than $4-million per season. He has a roster bonus due April 15 and his cap value for 2003 is $8-million.

The Bucs never have approached Alstott about restructuring his deal, agent Ben Dogra said. But he didn't discount possible trade discussions.

"The higher-paid players in this league, and you could check with other teams, there's always interest that they may want to go in a different direction," Dogra said. "In fact, there's been no calls and no discussions, but they have the prerogative to explore those directions. It doesn't mean they're going to trade the guy."

McKay said the Bucs probably will be successful in re-signing only about three of their 12 unrestricted free agents. And the biggest changes figure to be on offense, where the Bucs will try to add a left guard to replace retired Randall McDaniel, a receiver to play opposite Keyshawn Johnson, a tight end to replace Moore, and solve a running back quandary.

"Five (new starters) is a big number. Maybe three is probably a more realistic number," McKay said of the offense. "It depends a little bit on what happens with Warrick Dunn."

Among free agents to be targeted are receivers Germane Crowell of the Lions, Bob Shaw of the Steelers and Patrick Johnson and Qadry Ismail of the Ravens.

Former Colts tight end Ken Dilger could visit next week, and the Ravens' Shannon Sharpe also will draw interest. The Bucs would like to re-sign free-agent guard/center Todd Washington. But Jets free-agent guard Kerry Jenkins, who played under new Bucs offensive line coach Bill Muir, is a leading candidate to replace McDaniel.

"The approach will be methodical. I don't think we will have a lot of players signed in the next week or so," McKay said. "We do have a couple of our own players that we've targeted and talked to. We'd like to try and get deals done sooner rather than later."

-- Staff writer Roger Mills contributed to this report.

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