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Bucs officials and teammates fear LB Derrick Brooks' absence could be a prolonged one.
By RICK STROUD
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 30, 2001
TAMPA -- Derrick Brooks, the All-Pro linebacker who normally is all over the field, will be nowhere near it when the Bucs open training camp today.
Unhappy about being unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension, Brooks was a no-show Sunday when his team reported to the University of Tampa.
Now for the really bad news.
Bucs teammates and club officials believe it could be a very long time before Brooks appears in a Tampa Bay uniform this year.
"Derrick has two years remaining on his contract. We have for the past seven, maybe eight months, attempted to do an extension with Derrick," general manager Rich McKay said. "We felt it was the right thing, given the kind of player he is, even though we thought it was a little early. But we didn't make much headway. He made the decision not to come in.
"The ball ends up in Derrick's court. It isn't a path we've been down a lot. We didn't have a very good result the last time we went down it."
The last Bucs player under contract who did not report to training camp was running back Errict Rhett, whose holdout forced him to miss half of the 1996 season and did not result in a new deal.
Brooks, 28, has two years remaining on a five-year contract extension that he signed at the end of the 1997 season. He is scheduled to become the fifth-highest paid linebacker in the NFL this season at $3.25-million and would earn $5.5-million in 2002, according to team officials.
But the club never expected Brooks to play out the terms of his entire contract. The former Florida State Seminole is believed to be seeking a deal worth at least $6-million per year.
The Bucs refuse to resume negotiations with Brooks until he reports to camp. The team is expected to fine him $5,000 per day under the terms of the collective-bargaining agreement.
Brooks watched the team go on a spending spree the past two seasons, signing Keyshawn Johnson, John Lynch, Marcus Jones, Brad Johnson and Simeon Rice to lucrative deals.
And teammates believe his heels are dug deeply in the turf.
"He's a guy who very much has strong values and what he believes in he'll hold true to," Lynch said. "I just hope it all works out. And I know one thing. Derrick will be ready to play when the time comes to play.
"This organization has shown an ability to keep all of our core players together and Derrick knows he's very much a part of that."
Brooks was unavailable for comment Sunday. But he expressed his disappointment over his contract status in an interview with the Times in Sunday's edition (see Brooks ready for new contract).
"They told me it's supposed to happen," Brooks said. "They say this organization was built on character. I plan to sit back and let it happen. I keep being told the team wants to make Derrick happy.
"I've sat back and watched while they've signed some guys."
Brooks telephoned coach Tony Dungy on Sunday morning to inform him that he would not report.
"He's wrestled with this and gone back and forth. But he chose not to come and I respect that," Dungy said. "Everybody has decisions that they make. ... It won't be an excuse for us, just like someone gets hurt. You've got to win and we plan on doing that.
"Derrick has done everything that we've asked ever since I've been here. Derrick is one of my favorite guys. But I have to deal in the reality of who is here. So I can't what if, and fantasize and whatever."
Instead, the Bucs plan to move Shelton Quarles from strongside linebacker to Brooks' spot. Alshermond Singleton is expected to replace Quarles.
But it's pure folly to suggest that the defense will be merely mortal without the 6-foot, 235-pound Brooks, a four-time Pro Bowl player who has led the team in tackles the past three seasons.
"I understand his position and we're just going to have to take a position now that we do with injured guys, that he's not here and we've got to get other people ready," Dungy said.
Sunday was supposed to be a day of anticipation, hope and hype for the Bucs, who appeared to have done everything right in the off-season in building a Super Bowl contender.
But players and team officials were extremely careful not to disparage Brooks, one of the team leaders and most popular stars.
Since the end of the 1999 season, the Bucs signed extensions with:
Keyshawn Johnson, eight years, $56-million.
Lynch, six years, $24-million.
Jones, seven years, $40.25-million).
The team has also signed free agents:
Brad Johnson, five years, $28-million.
Rice, five years, $30-million.
Keyshawn Johnson said he sympathized with Brooks.
"I would do the same thing," the receiver said. "Either that, or come in for a day and then leave. What else can he do?
"It has nothing to do with the salary cap. They have the money to take care of him."
Quarles said he saw the frustration building in Brooks during the team's minicamp.
"He went to them last year and they were supposed to do it in good faith," Quarles said, "and for it to be the second year in a row going into training camp and them not being able to work something out, it's got to hurt you as a player. Especially the things he has done to help our team be what we've been on defense."
But Dungy insisted Brooks' holdout would not be a distraction.
"I think it will for a day, but other than that I don't," he said. "Kurt Warner got a chance to play when Trent Green got hurt. The Rams could've said, 'Oh, our starting quarterback is out. What are we going to do?' But they went about their business and decided to try and win and Kurt Warner played great. A lot of times, that's what happens.
"Obviously, Derrick has been a big part of what we've done. It's been a big surprise for the players. But we'll be fine," he said.
"Tomorrow we'll go out and practice just like we normally do and we'll be ready to go."