Kellen Winslow’s stunning revelation that he has played his last snap with the Bucs was shocking enough heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio this morning.

But add to that Winslow inferred that the Bucs double-crossed him, in particular new Bucs coach Greg Schiano.

Winslow, appearing on “The Opening Drive” with co-hosts Ross Tucker and Andrew Bogusch, claimed he was blindsided when the Bucs informed him Saturday he would not be with the Bucs.

Winslow said Schiano told him he was “his guy” and that the Bucs did not have a problem with him being in away from last week’s OTAs.

In fact, Winslow said, he was at minicamp last month and clearly was in town preparing to participate in this week’s OTAs.

Winslow said the problems with the Bucs arose because he was not working out with the team full-time in the offseason, per Bogusch’s Twitter feed.

After the interview, Tucker wasn’t buying totally what Winslow was selling. Tucker pointed out that Winslow admitted the Bucs tried to trade him in the offseason.

“It can’t be just about not working out with the team in the offseason if he was there twice and the Bucs tried to trade him back in February,” Tucker said. “There’s got to be another reason than just the offseason workouts missed.”

Tucker speculated that Winslow’s gimpy knees were likely the reason Winslow’s days as a Bucs tight end are over.

Dallas Clark could be the replacement

Bucs tight end Kellen Winslow appeared this morning on SiriusXM NFL Radio’s “Opening Drive” with Ross Tucker and Andrew Bogusch and was told he is no longer welcome with the Bucs.

Ironically, per SiriusXM NFL Radio, he was in Tampa this weekend to participate in the Bucs OTAs this week when he was told by the Bucs Saturday morning his Tampa days are done.

Bogusch documented on his Twitter feed what Winslow explained initially, saying the Bucs were angry he was not in Tampa working out with the team.

Winslow claimed the Bucs told him the team was good with him not coming into Tampa for workouts until he was told this morning of his Buccaneers demise.

Winslow also confirmed the Bears were interested in trading for him during the offseason.

BSPN’s Adam Schefter claims, via Twitter, the Bucs will make a move on Dallas Clark to replace him.

Joe is of the belief that Clark is in Tampa as Joe types. Last night a reader of Joe’s claimed Clark was on the same flight from Indianapolis to Tampa that landed at Tampa International last night at 7 p.m. The reader claimed he spoke with Clark who did not know if he would sign with the Bucs.

Joe must stress he could not confirm the reader’s story. Given what happened this morning with Winslow and the reader’s story last night, it adds up.

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How giddy is Bucs rookie running back Doug Martin now that he is in the NFL? Martin gathered to show off his Bucs threads and dance floor moves with other rookies recently during a photo shoot at the Rose Bowl. Joe wonders what number Martin is performing, “The Muscle Hamster?”

When a drafted rookie wears the number of a veteran free agent who has yet to sign a contract with his team, that’s usually a sign said veteran’s days with the club are done.

That looks to be the case this year with fan favorite Earnest Graham, as rookie Michael Smith, who the Bucs are already calling their version of Darren Sproles, is wearing Graham’s old No. 34.

Joe pointed this out during the rookie mini-camp and quite a few fans savaged Joe for thinking such a thought.

Well now, it’s not just Joe reporting this news. Now Pat Yasinskas of ESPN believes Graham has played his last snap for the Bucs, so he suggested in a recent NFC South chat.

Nathan (Orange County)
Is it time to say farewell to earnest Graham? I think so.

Pat Yasinskas
Think that already has been done. He’s not under contract with Bucs and I think it’s obvious they’ve moved on. If healthy, Earnest probably could still get a job elsewhere in NFL.

That’s the problem though, Graham probably isn’t healthy.

First, Graham is an old man by running back standards. He’s 32. Then throw in he’s coming off of an Achilles injury, that’s not good for anyone much less a senior citizen running back.

Joe thinks the world of Earnest Graham. The consummate professional. Sadly, Father Time rests for no one.

Joe’s written about how the previous Bucs regime captained by rockstar general manager Mark Dominik and Raheem Morris liked to talk about how the team had enough veteran leadership in place because ex-players like Keith Millard, Eric Yarber and Alex Van Pelt were position coaches.

Joe never really bought that theory (a coach is not a teammate and never will be), and leadership seemed to be a key issue in the historic collapse of 2011, which led to the heinous 10-game losing streak the Bucs are riding.

So Joe is encouraged by the words of Dominik regarding the effect of Vincent Jackson, as quoted in the Tampa Bay Times today.

“It’s not just (making) big plays in practice,” general manager Mark Dominik said. “It’s his leadership and the style he practices and the way he really helps the younger players and continues to show the ropes and do everything the right way. Vincent Jackson has been a consummate professional from the first day we signed him.”

A “show-the-ropes” veteran for a young corps, what a beautiful thing.

Sure, high-energy new wide receivers coach P.J. Fleck was a 49ers’ receiver for a couple of seasons, but he can’t replicate the impact of an accomplished guy like Jackson sharing knowledge and setting an example for the Bucs’ young receivers. Goodness, ask Mike Williams about how much blocking icon Michael Clayton meant to him in 2010. Clayton was around busting his butt and mentoring all through the 2010 offseason, training camp and preseason.

So on that note, Joe wants to call on Dominik to give his young running backs a “show-the-ropes” veteran, too.

Joe thinks LeGarrette Blount, Michael Smith, Moissis Madu and Doug Martin would seriously benefit from it through the offseason and training camp. And keeping said veteran on the roster wouldn’t hurt either, especially for a team that wants to run the ball like the 1972 Dolphins.

Yeah, you can’t develop a young player with an old veteran taking his spot on the roster, but you also can’t duplicate the impact of a Ryan Grant-type or any accomplished veteran with a good work ethic. 

Earlier this week, Pat Kirwan, of CBS Sports and NFL Radio, called Grant a steal of a free-agent value. Joe can’t see any harm in the Bucs bringing him in. They can always cut him.

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Joe probably would ignore a public slap at Bucs icon Ronde Barber if it came from a BSPN reporter who had no playing experience. But Joe can’t sit idly by while Barber is shamed on NFL.com by a former player.

NFL.com columnist Bucky Brooks, who played five seasons in the 1990s, has churned out a list of the top NFL players 35 years old and older. Eight players were given kudos from Brooks. John Kasay, the NFL’s 22nd best field goal kick last year at 82 percent conversion, was given love; Barber was omitted.

This is such a stunning oversight Joe hopes Brooks apologizes and adds Barber to his story. Brooks is better than this.

First off, how is a barely average kicker selected over Barber? The guy is the NFL’s reigning ironman, and arguably was the best defensive player on his team last year and he won on a Defensive Player of the Week honor in 2011.

A kicker?

Whenever Joe thinks of the grotesque 10-game losing streak last season that resulted in the jettisoning of then-coach Raheem Morris, Joe usually has to gulp Mylanta.

Bad fundamentals, horrid tackling, matador rush defense, fumbles, interceptions… Joe doesn’t know where to being — or end!

Now the little bit Joe has seen of the New Schiano Order, Joe has been impressed with the style of practices, attention to detail and stressing of fundamentals.

It seems wide receiver Vincent Jackson is impressed as well. The big fish of the Bucs free agent shopping this offseason took to Twitter and boasted about the team.

@VincentTJackson: What an amazing week at One Buc! We are steady [sic] becoming the team we want to be. Plenty of work to do, but this is gonna be a fun journey!

Now remember that Jackson comes from the Chargers where the team was expected to be in the playoffs and often went deep in the playoffs. So if Jackson likes the direction of the Bucs thus far — though it is still very, very early — this should be a good sign.

Certainly the Bucs receivers will get better with the addition of Jackson, that much one can pretty much take to the bank.

Last week when the Bucs held OTAs, three players were missing:

Kellen Winslow, who rarely attends such team functions, Dezmon Briscoe, who apparently places his all too sordid public lifestyle on a higher priority than his profession, and Brian Price.

Later, it was learned that Price was too ill to practice. Then, Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune discovered that Price was hospitalized, overcome with emotion after learning of the death of his sister in a traffic accident, the third sibling in his family to perish.

Price opened up to Steve Wyche in a powerful NFL.com article about his family’s harrowing last few days.

“It was very hard to see my mom go through that [expletive] again,” Price told NFL.com from his home in Tampa on Friday. “Bridget was my homey, my best friend. She was everything and she was very protective about me. … Every inspirational text she sent me, I teared up. It always was special when it came from her. I don’t know. It’s hard.

“I want to vent and cry. I never cried. I wasn’t raised to cry. Even when I was looking at my brothers’ caskets, I didn’t cry. Some days, it hits me. I’m sitting here and I can’t believe she’s gone.”

Price also spoke about how he will adopt his sister’s children and lauded new Bucs coach Greg Schiano for helping him out in his time of need.

Joe can’t imagine what Price has gone through in such a short time, having two brothers previously killed at the hands of urban violence.

Add the fact Price has had such a freak injury that no one knows still if he can fully recover, well, Price is nothing if not resilient.

The Ronde Barber move to safety is such a great learning experience for the Bucs’ young defense. All these young guys get to watch how a future Hall of Famer approaches learning not only a new defensive system but a new position.

Somehow, if the Bucs can just watch and emulate the example of old-man Barber, Joe suspects things will work out just fine.

Interestingly, bearded Barber says he’s not just soaking in a new position, but he’s learning stuff from the New Schiano World Order that he didn’t see from Tony Dungy, Mike Tomlin, Raheem Morris, Chucky and others.

“This is a learning opportunity for me. I’ve learned stuff about defense, I’ve learned stuff about football that I hadn’t necessarily gotten from my other three coaches,” Barber said. “So this is not only fun it’s a big challenge.”

Barber’s comment was delivered as part of the latest Scott Smith video on Buccaneers.com. Click here to watch. There are plenty of looks at Barber in practice and, if you pay attention, you’ll see a one-hand catch from Mark Barron.

So what new things about football has Barber learned from Greg Schiano? Joe would love to hear that answer.

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Joe has made no secret what he thinks of LeGarrette Blount, the Bucs’ No. 1 back until dethroned. It just staggers Joe how not only this guy was misused (five carries in the season opener against Detroit — FIVE!) but how offensive assistants did their best to throw the guy under the bus in a desperate attempt to save their own hides.

Well, now the Bucs have a coaching staff that loves to pound the rock. And the Bucs added first round pick Doug Martin and scatback Michael Smith.

But with three guys who can run and, of course, egos involved, can Blount and Muscle Hamster coexist? That’s the subject Paul Derrick of NationalFootballPost.com tackled this morning.

Blount has spoken publicly on how he has pushed himself this summer to be a better back and be capable of carrying a heavier load, but will that be enough? With Martin, Tampa Bay gets a running back with 4.5 speed who has drawn comparisons to Ravens running back Ray Rice.

Martin had nearly 1,900 all purpose yards during his senior year at Boise State and really fills all of the holes that Blount presents.

Blount is definitely a sock you in the mouth north/south style runner, but he can’t carry the entire offensive load for Tampa Bay in 2012. The Bucs spent a first round pick on Martin for a reason, and it’s something they won’t let go to waste.

Joe never understood what all the fuss was when Blount said, in so many words, he is the No. 1 back until otherwise proven. What’s he supposed to say? “I am horrible just like Greg Olson said when he planted all of these terrible things about me and I shouldn’t even be on the roster.”

Please!

Competition brings out the best in players. Look at what happened the last time Blount had competition: He blew up because he had to fight for playing time with Cadillac Williams on the roster.

Now Joe loves Muscle Hamster and hope he runs for 1,500 yards but let’s be honest here. Muscle Hamster has not carried the ball once in the heat of anger on the NFL level. Nor has Smith.

If all three of these guys are productive, Joe sees good things happening for the Bucs.

Newspapers constantly make calls on whether to quote a subject verbatim or to clean up grammar, as well as to pick and choose comments to make a story flow smoothly and keep it from becoming about somebody’s communication skills.

It happens every day, especially with professional athletes and coaches.

Locally, the mainstream outlets did that routinely with Raheem Morris, the loquacious and vivacious former Bucs coach. But Joe typically quoted Raheem without cleanup because Joe had endless space on the Interwebs to celebrate a good Raheem ramble, plus Joe often found Raheem’s unique style of communicating and bizarre storytelling and nicknames entertaining and wanted to share that with readers.

But Joe saw the cover of Wednesday’s Tampa Bay Times sports section and felt the newspaper made a sinister choice to target LeGarrette Blount by highlighting his bad grammar in red in what’s known as a pull quote. See below. (You can double-click the image to enlarge it.)

Don’t get Joe wrong. Blount said what he said and there’s nothing wrong with quoting him. But the bold highlight of the poor grammar here is a questionable choice considering Blount expressed the exact same words correctly in the part of the quote you don’t see above. Here’s what appeared in the actual story:

“I think nobody can affect my carries but me,” Blount said. “They drafted him because we needed him. But at the end of the day, we’re both going to play. Don’t nobody affect my carries but me, not what he does, not what anybody else does, just how I practice and how fast I get the offense down pat and everything like that. That’s the only thing that will affect my carries.”

So essentially, the Times editors who designed and approved the sports page cover had three choices — take the quote from Blount that made sense, take the one that made him sound like an uneducated boob, or display both together as it was in the story.

The Times’ call was to make Blount look like a boob.

Joe’s readers can reach their own conclusions. But there’s no denying that Blount is being repeatedly targeted by local and national media. This is the third incident this week. As Joe’s written before, a sociology professor somewhere could put together quite a study of the negative media vibes around a young, productive and exciting player.

Joe openly wonders what Tampa Bay Times resident media ethicist and social activist Eric Deggans would have to say on this matter. Just a hunch, we will never know.

It seems like every year Bucs fans grasp onto the hopes of a player that has at best limited odds of making the team.

Just by listening to Bucs fans periodically pine for wide receiver Ed Gant, Joe’s pretty sure he is this year’s Kareem Huggins, an extreme bubble guy.

Good guy Mark Cook of PewterReport.com recently held a live chat where he was peppered with a question about Gant making the Bucs.

tward369
Last preseason, wide receiver Ed Gant showed signs of having some promising talent. Yet, we did not see him on the field last season. In your opinion, what are the odds of him getting playing time this season, and why?

Mark Cook
Ed Gant is very intriguing. He has great size and has a totally different body type than any other Buccaneers receiver. He also has really good speed. I thought he looked really good Tuesday, but he is still raw and has a disadvantage to guys like Stroughter and Parker for that reason. I believe if he improves a few things, like footwork in his routes, and can grasp the playbook, then he has a real shot to make the roster this year.

Joe’s not so sure Gant will make the Bucs, though Dezmon Briscoe, who was the Bucs’ No. 5 receiver last year, has done just about everything to make the Bucs cut him, short of dropping a steamy No. 2 on Greg Schiano’s office carpet. So there could be an opening.

Then again the Bucs did go out and sign Vincent Jackson, so one would believe every receiver has dropped down a notch meaning Sammie Stroughter is right now the No. 5 receiver behind Jackson, Mike Williams, Arrelious Benn and Preston Parker.

When the Bucs had their OTAs this week, there were three absentees:

Kellen Winslow, who normally is allergic to OTAs.

Dezmon Briscoe, for reasons unknown, but he finds the time to retweet messages on Twitter from women who drool over his posterior.

Brian Price, who was too sick to practice.

Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune found out what made Price sick, and not only was Joe sick reading about this, but Bucs fans need to back off the guy for not practicing this week.

Price was so shaken and distraught over his sister being killed in a traffic accident, he found himself in a local hospital.

The toll so far includes a degree of mental and physical exhaustion that resulted in a hospital stay here in Tampa that began on Monday and didn’t end until late Thursday, Price’s agent said.

“He was ready to go with the OTAs (organized team activities) starting up on Tuesday, but between a complete lack of sleep and all that he has been dealing with from this loss, he just couldn’t do it,” Charles Price said.

“You never want to use the term ‘physical exhaustion,’ but there’s really no other way to describe it. He was dehydrated and after dealing with so much, his body just shut down on him.”

From Cummings’ article, his older sister was like a second mother. Price grew up in the rough neighborhoods of Los Angeles and lost two brothers to gang violence. Price worked himself out of these miserable conditions and went to UCLA and got a degree.

Now he’s trying to battle back from a freak injury to further better his life.

It still blows Joe’s mind that with so many Bucs players loafing and taking advantage of Raheem Morris last year, that Morris chose Price of all people to run out of the stadium in the middle of a game like some high school kid.

Learning of Price’s sister’s death, Joe has even more reasons to pull for the guy to dominate this season.

Literally as Joe walked into his modest abode at 2:17 eastern daylight time, Joe’s Droid Razr Maxx went off with an alert from the Bucs that free agent kicker Connor Barth has been signed.

Joe will let the release from the Bucs explain the details.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced today that they have signed K Connor Barth, the team’s franchise player, to a four-year contract.

“For the Bucs organization, [General Manager] Mark Dominik, Coach [Greg] Schiano and everyone to believe in me, to know that I’ll be their kicker for the next four years, is awesome,” said Barth. “It’s just an amazing opportunity and I want to continue to perform like I have and live up to their expectations. I want to thank everyone – the fans, everybody, the team behind me – and I’m looking forward to getting back on the field.”

There. Some Bucs fans long nightmare is complete. One of the few weapons that consistently came through for the Bucs is now in the fold for four more seasons.

Reportedly, the deal is worth some $13.2 million with $4-mil guaranteed. Not bad for a guy who logs, at best, 15 plays a game.