Oben is waiting to be rewarded

Roman Oben started every game during the Bucs' championship season after signing a one-year deal for the minimum salary.

By ROGER MILLS, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 20, 2003

TAMPA -- Roosevelt Barnes, the agent for left tackle Roman Oben, Wednesday described the team's tardiness in re-signing the unrestricted free agent as somewhat "frustrating."

"It's not the best situation," said Barnes, who remains optimistic that a deal can be done. "Roman's dealing with it the best he can, but this is tough on him. It's frustrating to him."

Since the free-agent market opened on Feb. 28, the Bucs have re-signed Pro Bowl middle linebacker Shelton Quarles, which clearly was their priority, and added former Jaguars center John Wade and former Giants right guard Jason Whittle.

The Bucs also would like to re-sign free agent Shaun King, who finished his third and final day of quarterback orientation at One Buc Place without a contract. Wednesday, King said he is confident he will have a deal as soon as the Bucs free up salary cap money.

In the meantime, Oben, who has expressed a desire to stay in Tampa Bay, has been waiting patiently for something to happen.

"We're still at status quo right now," said Barnes, who expects to speak with Bucs general manager Rich McKay today. "It's a situation where he started every game for the Bucs last year and really played pretty good football and it was good enough for them to win a Super Bowl.

"So he had a year when he had a look-see for the team and now you would think the team would want to step up and reward him. You would think the team would want him back."

In Hawaii for the league's player representative meetings, Oben, 30, is looking for a four- or five-year deal that would allow him to finish his career in Tampa. The Bucs, Barnes said, have not yet laid out an acceptable offer.

"It's a situation of value," Barnes said. "Roman's first priority is to play here next year and to retire as a Buc. But there comes a point when he has to be open to do other things."

King, 25, said his presence at the three-day orientation at the request of coach Jon Gruden was a sign of good faith.

"The lines of communication have been open, and I'm confident that we're going to get something done," King said. "They wanted me at the orientation and that's a good sign. Both sides want to get it done, but they have to free up some salary money."

The progress made in the attempt to restructure the contract of receiver Keyshawn Johnson will help. Johnson has agreed to help the Bucs, who are $500,000 under the cap, make some room.

Johnson will receive more than half of his $5-million salary and roster bonus for next season up front, saving the Bucs about $2.5-million.

"It's in the process of being done," Johnson said. "We're still ironing out one minor thing. But once that's done, I'll be able to help the team."

King said the renegotiation doesn't guarantee him a deal.

"I don't know if I'm next," he said. "They have no left tackle. They need a free safety and they need a linebacker."

WARREN'S WORLD: Defensive tackle Warren Sapp, who always has kept close to his roots in Plymouth and Apopka, officially opened the Warren Sapp Computer Lab at the Florida Citrus Sports Camp in Orlando on Wednesday.

Sapp donated $25,000 to outfit the lab, which includes 20 computer stations.

"We're just scratching the surface, and we're going to see if we can get some others to open up their checkbooks, because we've got to look out for our children, don't we?" Sapp said. "It's for the kids. Whenever you're working with the Florida Citrus Sports and what they're doing, it's easy to get on board. They've got a big, powerful train that runs and you're just helping to push."

JAPAN STILL ON: At this point, the Bucs and Jets are on for a preseason game in Japan in early August, despite Major League Baseball's decision to cancel a two-game series between the Athletics and the Mariners in Tokyo because of the pending war.

"We'll continue to monitor the situation, see developments," said Joe Browne, the NFL's executive director of communication and public affairs.

McKay said the Bucs will "treat it as though it's a go."