“Not interested in Free Agents” is nothing new at One Buc…

I came across an interesting article by Rick Stroud of the St. Pete Times in the Google archives. It is from Feb. 13th, 1998, just after the Bucs turn around season of ’97 when they went 10-6 and shocked the world, with a young bunch of upstart players no one ever heard of yet like Lynch, Brooks, Sapp, Alstott, Dunn, etc. The article is about how the Bucs will NOT be interested in Free Agents, rather using the cap space to sign their core players. What some people just dont understand, is the Bucs front office doesnt see any Alstott’s or Brooks on the team just yet. Should a Benn, Williams, McCoy or Price become a serious player, they will do the same thing today they did a decade or more ago. From the piece… “…the Bucs appear more content to watch the salaries of their own young players rise instead.” “To illustrate their commitment to develping young players the Bucs released veteran outside linebacker Rufus Porter on Thursday. Extending the contracts of young stars such as Warren Sapp, Mike Alstott, and Donnie Abraham will take priority over addin pricey players from other teams….” Tony Dungy felt to lose players and just replace them with free agents and draft picks would be same as treading water. This message the Glazers are trying to get across today, but too many people simply do not remember these days or just werent around for them.