Running back Kareem "The Dream" Huggins has signed a contract with the Bucs

Two good guys were rewarded with spots on the Bucs’ practice squad: St. Petersburg native and Lakewood High School graduate wide receiver Patrick Carter, and Raheem the Dream’s hometown guy running back Kareem Huggins.

Additionally, the Bucs also claimed cornerback William Middleton from the Dixie Chicks. He was Atlanta’s fifth round pick this year.

Joe is happy to see this. Huggins seemed on his way to making the team until he suffered a hyperextended knee against Jacksonville. Carter bounced around last year and it warms Joe’s heart to see a local guy like that finally have his hard work and dedication pay off.

Ryan Purvis is officially a Bucs tight end. He was among seven named this weekend to the practice squad. The Bucs have one more spot to fill.

The Bucs were busy today filling out their practice squad. That’s the group of eight young, inexperienced guys who get paid about $90,000 for the season to impress coaches, hit the weight room and simulate the Bucs’ opponent and land top shelf women.

Not bad work if you can get it.

In addition to Maurice Evans, whose genius Joe described earlier, now Buccaneers are CB Kyle Arrington, DT Rashaad Duncan, RB Kareem Huggins, OL James Lee, WR Patrick Carter, WR Mario Urrutia and TE Ryan Purvis. One spot remains open.

Joe was intrigued by undrafted rookie tight end Purvis, a Jeff Jagodzinski guy out of Boston College who was one of Matt Ryan’s favorite targets at BC and considered a strong pro prospect in 2007.

Purvis’ performance fell considerably in his senior year in 2008, and he landed in Bucs camp.

Joe caught up with the 6-4, 255-pound tight end after he made the Bucs’ practice squad on Sunday.

Joe: You had a couple of good catches in the final preseason game against Houston. But you’re pretty much a mystery to Bucs fans. What should fans know about you?

Ryan Purvis: I catch the ball. I kind of pride myself on that. …I”ve got three great tight ends ahead of me right now. It’s a great opportunity to develop my complete game. It’s a great experience and opportunity to get into the tight ends room with this group. I’ll work hard.

Joe: You’ve already spent time in preseason with the Bucs three veteran tight ends. Talk about that.

Purvis: It’s been really nice because they’re all good at different things. Kellen [Winslow] and Jeremy Stevens are great receivers and [John] Gilmore’s a great blocker. Kellen’s been exceptional on teaching me to read defenses. …And Gilmore on learning to get into people and block at this level.

Joe: Jeff Jagodzinski was your head coach at Boston College. What was your relationship with him and did you feel your chances to make the Bucs took a blow when he was fired?

Purvis: I had a great relationship with him for two years at Boston College. I know he had a hand in bringing me in here. I wasn’t concerned when he left. I really didn’t think that it would affect me or that I would be evaluated differently.

Joe: So after being undrafted you’ve now got a spot in the NFL. How do you feel? What did you do when you got the news?

Purvis: It’s been a long road since my bowl game [against Vanderbilt] to Pro Days through the draft to right now. It’s a great feeling. … I called my parents right away and they were having a Labor Day party back home and some family was over. I told them all I’d be sticking around and they’d have a place to visit when it gets cold back home this winter.

Joe loves his readers. When Joe has to leave his home for whatever reason, it seems his readers look out for him.

A poster tipped Joe off to the fact the Bucs may have signed rookie free agent Maurice Evans off waivers. 

The former stud defensive end at Penn State was signed by the Giants as a free agent and lasted until this weekend. That’s not a big knock on Evans as the Giants are loaded with defensive linemen.

The Bucs have nothing about this signing on their website but Mike Garafolo of the Newark Star-Ledger (which Joe thought was out of business) has this information on his Twitter account .

Evans was a monster two years ago for JoePa but after getting busted for the hippie lettuce was suspended by JoePa for the first three games of 2008, lost his starting gig to Aaron Maybin, and never really matched the success he had in 2007.

The story behind the bust is rather humorous if not profoundly moronic. Seems Evans and other Penn State players held a party at their apartment. So far, so good. Some dork decides to call the cops because the party is too loud (must have been a math major).

The cops show up and want to look inside the apartment. The players, stupidly, say “No, go get a warrant.” Real dumb. Not only do you piss off the cops, who may have given you a break because you played for JoePa, they go wake up a judge (who is equally pissed now) and get a warrant signed.

In the meantime, what made this move moronic was that the players had plenty of time to get rid of their stash since the cops were outside and not leaving. Instead, they leave their stash on the coffee table.

So when the cops get the warrant, enter the apartment… well, what have we here?

Joe hopes that Evans has decided to stop smoking left-handed cigarettes, learned a basic grasp of civics, and somehow regains his form from college two years ago when he tormented the likes of Tyler Donovan.

In honor of the signing of Evans, who can also play the 3-4 defense — ruh, roh — Joe is going to watch the Penn State game over Akron from yesterday with a cold Caybrew in hand.

Between bottles of Caybrew last night while  watching BYU-Oklahoma and Alabama-Virginia Tech on Joe’s two TVs, Joe learned Garcia was cut by the Raiders.

The former Bucs quarterback and his dad have always been good to Joe, so Joe was rather chagrin to learn of this transaction.

It was a surprise move, writes David White of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Garcia, 39, was hired in April to push Russell, if not for the starting job, then to teach the former No. 1 overall draft pick how to be a dedicated NFL quarterback in his third season.

“I think first and foremost we are committed to JaMarcus Russell as our starter,” Raiders coach Tom Cable said. “He’s our guy.”

The question, then, is what happens if something happens to their guy?

Garcia provided them a better backup plan than most teams enjoy. He was certainly an upgrade over former backup Andrew Walter and ranked ahead of Bruce Gradkowski and Charlie Frye on the depth chart from Day 1.

Joe has always wondered about that Larry “The Cable Guy” who coaches for senile Al Davis. If The Jawbreaker (allegedly) actually thinks an old Jeff Garcia is better than Charlie Frye, maybe Joe’s in the wrong business.

And yes, this news about Garcia gives Joe a perfect excuse to post a photo of his wife, Carmella, a longtime favorite of Joe’s and his readers.

Joe suspects few will mind.

Former Bucs defensive lineman Kevin Carter is still unemployed, one of many smaller moves Bucs general manager Mark Dominik got right.

Bucs general manager Mark Domink was roasted over the coals far and wide for letting go Derrick Brooks. Other moves raised an eyebrow higher than Brooks usually did.

But for the most part, Dominik’s transactions have been smart, so writes Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune.  

As Joe pointed out yesterday, the Bucs swindled Bill Belicheat, who dresses for games as if he just walked out of a homeless shelter.

Cummings scoured the waiver wire yesterday for ex-Bucs who Dominik let go and found many.

Though a lot of Bucs fans were angered over the release last spring of franchise stalwarts Derrick Brooks and Warrick Dunn, no rival NFL team has suggested it wasn’t the right call.

With the start of the 2009 regular season now just a week away, neither Brooks nor Dunn has found a new team to play for, and the same holds true for Kevin Carter, Ike Hilliard and Brian Griese.

And while a few of the players let go by the Bucs in recent months did find work with new teams, none seem to have found the kind of work they once had with the Bucs.

Joe could quibble over some of the other moves. Joe still believes Ike Hilliard could have been a valuable asset off the bench as he was last year. The Bucs depth at wide receiver is paper-thin.

Joe also believes Dunn could have helped but the Bucs don’t exactly need running backs. And as Cummings points out, Joey Galloway is so far playing well for Belicheat and the Patriots.

But Dominik wanted to go younger and when a team is rebuilding — yeah, Ra’, you are rebuilding — it’s always best to go young.

Mark Dominik and Raheem The Dream waived goodbye tonight to Luke McCown. He was dealt to the Jacksonville Jaguars for an undisclosed 2010 draft pick.

Joe’s hoping the Bucs got a fifth-rounder. Wishful thinking, but possible.

And Joe wishes good-guy McCown well.

So much for keeping four quarterbacks. Joe suspected McCown would be dealt the moment the Bucs named Byron Leftwich the starter.

JoeBucsFan.com polled you, the thousands of daily readers, to ask whether you thought McCown would be traded before opening day. And 43 percent of you were on the mark. Not bad.

Now the question is whether Josh Johnson will get a legitimate chance to win the No. 2 quarterback job. Joe wouldn’t vote yes on that one.

Joe caught up with safety Steve Cargile after he was cut by the Bucs today. Cargile is a veteran out of Columbia University who has bounced around a handful of clubs since earning his Ivy League economics degree in 2004. He’s also worked for his share of stud NFL coaches, including Bill Parcells, Mike Shanahan and Tom Coughlin.

On what was a downer of a day for him, Cargile told Joe about his experience and Raheem The Dream’s locker room.

Joe: Your former teammate in Denver, John Lynch, was touting you on multiple Bucs preseason broadcasts. And you played well in your time here. Was today’s news a surprise?

Steve Cargile: I wouldn’t say it was a surprise. You learn quickly that anything is possible in the NFL. It’s a disappointment because I believe I showed in Tampa that I can play in this league. …I didn’t know the exact situation coming in and my chances. But I definitely thought I played well enough to make the team.

Joe: You were in Bucs training camp in 2006. Did you have any history with Raheem Morris?

Cargile: It was Raheem and Mike Tomlin who made the case to bring me into Tampa that year. But Raheem was gone to Kansas and Tomlin in Minnesota when I got here.

Joe: Did you get any positive feedback today? Or did the Bucs just say, ‘See you later.’

Cargile: I don’t think they said see you later. I sat down with my position coach today and he was very positive about my performance. If the situation comes up again here, I don’t think they’d be hesitant to bring me back. They felt comfortable with me in the defense. And I felt comfortable with the defense.

Joe: You’ve been in camps and on the rosters of several franchises, the Cowboys, Giants, Broncos, Monte Kiffin’s Buccaneers, among others. How does the atmosphere of the 2009 Bucs compare?

Cargile: I think there’s a good attitude. I liked Raheem for the head coach for the short time I was here. It’s an excellent coaching staff. Compared to other organizations I’ve been around it’s looser in Tampa. Not looser in an bad sense. It just not a military format where everybody has to be some specific way. The expectations are there, it’s just a loose environment. It’s different.

Joe: Coming into the NFL from an Ivy League school, what kind of challenge is that too overcome?

Cargile: It’s tougher for anyone from a small school, especially when you’re a free agent. It’s been a tough road. …I got a break [in Denver] but not as many opporutnities as I believe I deserved. You need to make the most of all opportunities, but you need some luck and some breaks. I’ve always been one of those guys on the bubble. I just need one of those times again to get one of those breaks.

Joe always feels good when Bill Belicheat looks bad.

And Joe’s not referring to his wardrobe issues. 

When the Patriots made cuts today, former Bucs tight end Alex Smith was on the list of casualties.

Kudos to Mark Dominik for unloading Smith on the Patriots for a 2010 draft pick. Now if Dominik can send him Luke McCown, he’ll be 2-for-2 against Belicheat. 

"Hey Dick, Ra' learned from the best. Where do you think he got that brilliant idea of keeping four quarterbacks from?"

Chucky may be gone but his shadow lingers. How else with a straight face can anyone  explain why the Bucs kept four quarterbacks?

Unless it has something to do with a seven-figure sum. You know, something along the lines of $2.5 million?

Not even all the good college football on the tube can temper THE PESSIMIST’s disgust. Just what is the reason the Bucs are keeping Luke McCown if he cannot start?

This McCown is a bad quarterback. It’s that simple.

He stunk in Cleveland and the only reason people around here smile when his name is mentioned is because Sean Payton was a moron and called a gadget play late in a game with the Saints leading at home deep in their own territory. The play blew up in their faces, allowing the Bucs and McCown  to steal a win.

All these people that screamed for Chucky’s scalp and crucified him for keeping four quarterbacks, where are you now? Are you going to shut down the phone lines for the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig? Are you going to fill up the message boards with your venom?

There’s no reason on earth to keep the loser of the battle between Byron Leftwich and McCown. Leftwich “won” but he’s just keeping the seat warm for rookie Josh Freeman. Explain in great detail what McCown brings to the table outside of being a nice guy?

Chris Rix is a nice guy, too, how come he’s not on the roster?

Why, McCown was such a stud and a trusted fellow, Chucky instead decided to start a rusty, hurt Son of Bob in a critical game at Atlanta last year. That’s all anyone really needs to know.

What exactly did McCown do in the preseason to justify keeping him? Remember, McCown was given the starting job when he (unjustly) received a $2.5 million signing bonus this winter. The starting quarterback job was McCown’s “to lose” and he did just that.

Are the Bucs such a juggernaut that they can afford to waste a roster spot on a fourth quarterback?

THE PESSIMIST can understand keeping Josh Johnson. He’s young, cheap, and could be used as a “slash” type of  player. But McCown? Please.

THE PESSIMIST just shakes his head and wonders what has happened to his Bucs?

And THE PESSIMIST wonders if the Bucs hierarchy will get trashed from the fans the same way the fans ripped Chucky for keeping four quarterbacks?

Or is keeping McCown a way for Mark Dominik to save face with Bryan and Joel?

The Bucs finally announced the victims of today’s mandatory NFL move of trimming each team’s roster down to 52 and the only moderate surprise was running back Kareem Huggins.

The other cuts are as listed below:

T Anthony Alabi

CB Kyle Arrington

DT Chris Bradwell

C Rob Bruggeman

DE Jarriett Buie

S Steve Cargile

WR Patrick Carter

DT Rashaad Duncan

DE Louis Holmes

CB Darrell Hunter

T James Lee

TE Jason Pociask

TE Ryan Purvis

LB Bo Ruud

WR Mario Urrutia

Terminated Vested Veterans:
K Matt Bryant
FB Jameel Cook
WR Cortez Hankton
WR Marcus Maxwell

Huggins impressed Bucs officials with his play and hustle but suffered a hyperextended knee in the win at Jacksonville and never had a carry since. Joe suspects if Huggins clears waivers the Bucs will sign him to the practice squad.

Carter, who graduated from Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg, was one of two local products trying to land a wide receiver gig. The other, Brian Clark of Tampa who graduated from Jefferson High School, made the squad.

Though preseason is hardly the time for fans of any team to freak out, Steve Wyche of NFL.com is of the mind that there are fans of five teams that have every right to hit the panic button now.

And one of those teams is, you guessed it, your Tampa Bay Bucs.

They will enter the season with Byron Leftwich as their starter, but there hardly is the sense that he has a stranglehold on the position. When the coaches compared Leftwich with his challenger, Luke McCown, they concluded that Leftwich could throw deeper when they went to their play-action passing game after setting up opposing defenses with a heavy dose of runs. McCown wasn’t all that far behind Leftwich during the preseason. And the fact is, either one of them would merely be keeping the seat warm for rookie Josh Freeman.

The defense is very young, and its inexperience has shown during the preseason. One player it needs to be able to count on is cornerback Aqib Talib, but his off-field issues are cause for concern. His most recent incident was an arrest for allegedly assaulting a cab driver.

The firing of Jagodzinski raises questions about whether Raheem Morris, like fellow rookie Haley, might be having a hard time with his transition to the head-coaching ranks. Wasn’t Jagodzinski coaching at Boston College while a certain quarterback named Matt Ryan was preparing to embark on an NFL career that got off to a wildly successful start in Atlanta last year?

Joe isn’t ready to hit the panic button yet. While there are certainly reasons for concern, he’s not climbing on top of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, but he has monitored traffic up there. 

Former Jets kicker Mike Nugent has won the Bucs kicking job.

Injured and angry kicker Matt Bryant was cut today, reports TBO.com.

No surprise. Uhh, he couldn’t kick through most of the preseason.

That’s a good way to lose a job, especially when your team brought in a capable professional to compete with you. Mike Nugent, a former second round pick in 2005, clearly has won the job.

Bucs fans will forever remember Bryant and his dedication to the team during his horrible personal tragedy last year.

Too bad he never got to fight it out — for real – with Nugent.

Joe is quite sure Bryant will find a job when he’s healthy.

Apparently coming to grips with the fact that he’s just minutes away from being cut and trying to salvage whatever prayer he has of staying with the Bucs, kicker Matt Bryant apologized for his outburst on something called FM radio earlier this week reports Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune.

Just days before, Bryant lashed out on WSUN-FM 97.1 (Joe’s a satellite radio/WDAE-AM 620 kinda guy), inferring that he was going to beat up fellow kicker Mike Nugent and all but calling Bucs general manager Mark Dominik and head coach Raheem the Dream liars.

Not exactly the best way to keep your job when you are already on thin ice. Bryant apparently realized this and tried to salvage his days as the Bucs kicker by apologizing.

“I talked with Nugent this morning [and] apologized for some of the comments and tried to relay [that they] came from an offseason of frustration,” Bryant told the Tampa Tribune in a text message.

Joe used to have tremendous respect for Bryant, especially after what he went through with the loss of his son. But what Bryant pulled on the local airwaves was beyond childish, incredibly stupid and killed whatever chances he had of staying with the Bucs.

It seems the only way Bryant remains on the roster is if Nugent get bitten by a dog or a snake or injures himself tumbling out of a high-class watering hole after consuming one too many Caybrews.

After all, only a high-class establishment would serve Caybrews.

UPDATE 3:50 p.m.: Though the Bucs have yet to release the list of players cut from the roster, in a text message to Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, Matt Bryant confessed he has been cut.

Raheem The Dream plans to look 20 men in the face today and thank them for their service to the Buccaneers, so he told the Buccaneers Radio Network following last night’s loss to the Houston Texans.

Joe has no doubt Raheem The Dream will man up and look these guys all in the eye if he can. He’s no Chucky disciple when it comes to communication.

The NFL roster cuts deadline is this afternoon.

Joe will bring you hard-hitting coverage and commentary.

The offense has few guys on the bubble. Running back Kareem Huggins is an extreme longshot after missing Friday’s game with an injury. Are rookies Rob Bruggeman, Demar Dotson and Xavier Fulton all going to stick around on the offensive line? The Bucs may want extra depth on the line with Donald Penn in a contract year and Jeff Faine having some preseason injuries. Surely the Bucs might look to a sixth receiver with Antonio Bryant and Michael Clayton coming off injuries.

The defense has tough calls at every position.

Might a Luke McCown trade open a spot?

Yes, Joe knows this is a Bucs blog. But Joe is a football addict. High school football, college football, NFL. It doesn’t matter to Joe so long as it’s pigskin.

Joe has been known to wake early on a Saturday morning, watch College Gameday on BSPN, one of the very few things that outfit does well, and watch college football until the wee hours of the next morning.

Why, Joe has even caught himself watching Hawaii home games at 2 a.m.

So Joe is in nirvana today, inhaling as much football (and grub and Caybrews) as any red-blooded American male can.

The following are just a few things that has Joe hooked on college football and why he keeps coming back.

UPDATE 10:33 a.m.: Joe just noticed on the Big Ten Network they have some pregame football show called “Big Ten Cookout.” The co-host is the lovely Melanie Collins. Joe put down the remote and frankly, really didn’t hear anything she said.

Joe has been impressed with the football coverage of the Big Ten Network. They seem to subscribe to the Roger Ailes philosphy of loading up your network with hot babes and people will watch. What a novel concept: hot babes, football… the only thing missing is a Caybrew.

Joe can understand how a high-paid athlete can be frustrated with physical troubles that jeopardize his job.

But at some point you have to be a professional. Bryant has not been.

Joe either listens to Sirius Radio (The King of All Media Howard Stern, NFL Radio, Chris Russo and Rivals Radio are his favorites) if he’s not listening to local sports radio. So Joe was surprised to read that Bryant trashed a number of people on some local FM station. Joe wasn’t even aware FM stations still existed.

At any rate, Bryant spoke on some (Joe assumes) oh, so whacky FM morning show on WSUN-FM 97.1 and unloaded on Mark Dominik, Raheem the Dream and fellow kicker Mike Nugent, so reports Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times (Joe couldn’t report it as he didn’t know FM still existed).

In Holder’s report, he notes how Bryant inferred he would confront Nugent with physical violence and all but called Dominik and Raheem the Dream liars.

“But the other day, it dawned on me. [Nugent] made some comment awhile back when he was asked why he would sign here, and he said he thought this was the best opportunity for him.

“Did (Morris and Dominik) tell him something to make him think this was the best opportunity? Or did he look at a number of teams and single me out? If he singled me out, then he’s out of his damn mind. If I would have been 100 percent healthy, like we do back home, you take somebody out behind the woodshed and kick their butt. But that hasn’t been the case, so you go on with your business.”

Easy there big fella. Chill! It appears pretty obvious you want to stay with the Bucs. But threatening violence against a fellow teammate and calling out the guys responsible for your checks is the easiest way to get a one-way ticket out of Tampa International Airport.

Not smart!

Oh, and Bryant didn’t play Friday night.

Anyone want to give Joe odds if Bryant will be calling a local U-Haul outlet tonight?

Raheem the Dream had his say on why he canned (former) offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski slightly over a week before the regular season begins.

Now it’s Mark Dominik’s turn.

Scott Smith of Buccaneers Insider walked down the hall at One Buc Palace and cornered the Bucs general manager and peppered him with questions about the firing of Jagodzinski.

In short, Dominik said not too many things will change with the team.

“We’re still going to run the ball,” Dominik said. “We’re still going to play tough defense.”

Where else do you expect loads of video highlights of the Bucs final preseason game?

Why Joe, of course. Who else?

First up is highlights of the game, replete with Gene Deckerhoff no less!

The second video is highlights of rookie quarterback Josh Freeman in his first start as a Bucs signal-caller, and his first touchdown thrown as a pro. It includes John Lynch on the TV broadcast blistering the Bucs for a woeful passing game.

As Marshall Faulk (stupidly) once told Lynch during a game, “Bring it Johnny!”

Lastly, Buccaneers.com has Raheem the Dream’s postgame press conference.

Joe must say that former Bucs tight end Dave Moore is a real treat in the broadcast booth for Bucs fans.

The guy does a fabulous job spewing out Xs and Os on the air.

Asked about Josh Freeman’s performance Friday night, Moore’s voice cringed.

“Freeman makes me nervous,” Moore said.

Moore explained that Freeman is “shifting his eyes all the way across the field” after he drops back to pass. And that’s an indicator that he’s “not recognizing coverages pre-snap.”

That’s when “bad things happen,” Moore said. “He doesn’t know the checkdowns.”

Again, Freeman is what he is: extremely talented, raw, and a 21-year-old fresh out of the pourous defenses of the Big 12.

Maybe new offensive coordinator Greg Olson is a polished brown-noser.

Maybe Olson is angling for a new contract worthy of an offensive coordinator.

Maybe Raheem The Dream wants a big hand in the offense.

In a largely benign postgame interview on the Buccaneers Radio Network, Olson was asked about his preference for calling plays — on the sidelines or up in a booth above the field.

Olson talked about how he is comfortable on the field but has called plays from both locations. And then he said, “I kind of feel comfortable being next to Raheem and getting a feel for what he wants.”

Joe put down his Caybrew and perked up.

First, Olson surely could communicate with the head coach via headset. But Olson specifically talked about being alongside his boss to get his feedback.

 Odd, for sure.

Joe wrote earlier that he was impressed with defensive end Kyle Moore’s all-around game in the first half. Raheem The Dream agreed.

Raheem The Dream singled out Moore on the Buccaneers Radio Network after the game.

“Really impressed with how he did it this week,” The Dream said. “He had an injury the week before. …Showed some mental toughness. I have to evaluate the tape, but I’m really excited about him and what he did.”