A mainstay whose persona is one with the Bucs, DT Warren Sapp's future with the team is unclear.
By ROGER MILLS
Published December 29, 2003
NASHVILLE - He has been the image of the franchise. The team's most decorated player and its most quoted voice.
He's been an All-Pro. A seven-time Pro Bowl selection. A defensive player of the year. For nine years, defensive tackle Warren Sapp has been inextricably linked to the Bucs.
"He's the personality of the organization," cornerback Ronde Barber said. "We have other great players, the Derrick Brookses, the Brad Johnsons, the John Lynches, but when I think of the Bucs, and I'm on the team, I think of Warren Sapp. He's definitely the face of the franchise and his play on the field speaks for itself."
But when he walked off the field at the end of Sunday's 33-13 loss to the Titans, Sapp's remarkable run in a Buccaneer uniform may have come to an end. And his teammates were struggling to accept it.
"You can't say enough about what he's meant to this team," safety John Lynch said. "He came in and every one knows we weren't a very good team and he and a lot of other people were a part of turning this thing around. (He's) one of the great players I have ever had the opportunity to play with in terms of skills and the way he loves the game and how hard he plays. We'll see what happens."
Sapp declined to be interviewed after the game.
An unrestricted free agent, the 31-year-old could be tagged a franchise player, making him the Bucs' property for one more season.
But that means a $7.9-million salary cap hit, a heavy burden for a team looking to upgrade in the offseason. The more likely scenario is that Sapp enters the free-agent market and challenges the Bucs to keep him inside their cap restrictions. That is further compounded by the departure of general manager Rich McKay to the Falcons.
"We'll meet on that pretty shortly, but there's no specific meeting set up and there is no timetable set, I can promise you that," said Tim Ruskell, the director of player personnel who is handling the general manager duties until a GM is hired. "We will get together this week and start to formulate an offseason plan. Obviously we don't have a general manager right now, so we're going to operate by committee until we hear otherwise."
Still one of the game's more dominant defensive tackles, Sapp should get quality offers, making it more challenging for the Bucs to re-sign him.
But while the marriage between the Bucs and Sapp appears in jeopardy, there's always a chance of reconciliation because coach Jon Gruden remains one of his biggest supporters.
"There's no question, from afar and from up close, at gunpoint range, I know what Warren Sapp is about as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer," Gruden said. "He's a Hall of Fame candidate, the most feared, the most productive inside player in my time in this league. We'll see what happens. I hate to sit here and paint a bleak picture that we've decided who's going where and he's decided who's going where until we take a bit of time and move on."
If it's over, Sapp's legacy will be hard to duplicate. The 12th overall pick in 1995, Sapp finished this season with 77 career sacks, 1.5 shy of Lee Roy Selmon's franchise mark of 78.5.
Through his first eight years, Sapp averaged nine sacks per season, gaudy numbers for a defensive tackle.
"(In there) there's so much doubling, so much traffic, so much chip-blocking, what he has accomplished is incredible," defensive line coach Rod Marinelli said. "There are not many tackles, over the history of the game, that have produced sacks like he has. You start from the top rushers in the NFL and count how many defensive tackles there are, not many. It's him and John Randle, that's it really.
Sapp has started 130 of 140 games, including 15 starts this season. He finished Sunday with five tackles and tons of lasting memories.
"It's been one enjoyable ride," defensive end Simeon Rice said of playing alongside Sapp. "One exciting ride. Sometimes it was up, sometimes down, but it's life and it's great playing with one of the favorite players in my life. All in all, it was all good. It could be (the end), but he doesn't want anyone to pout for him. He's acting like he's coming back next year. I'm not about to cry on his ears."
Added Brooks: "Until it happens, I'm still thinking he's going to be here."
