Bucs defensive end Da’Quan Bowers leaves a New York City jail late Monday after being collared for possession of a pistol at LaGuardia Airport yesterday morning.

Sometimes, Joe enjoys the hubris of some. Take attorneys who represent clients. In this case, said attorney is Dennis Coppin, who represents Bucs defensive end Da’Quan Bowers.

Yesterday, Bowers admitted to a US Airways clerk at LaGuardia Airport in Queens he was packing heat in his carry-on bag. This practice is frowned upon by New Yorkers, very much so in fact, and Bowers was slapped with a felony charge and locked up for the better part of Monday.

But in an e-mail to the Tampa Tribune, Coppin declares Bowers will walk away from these proceedings free as a bird, so reports Woody Cummings.

“After a full and fair investigation of the facts and circumstances regarding this registered firearm Mr. Bowers will be fully exonerated,” attorney Dennis Coppin wrote in an email to The Tribune on Tuesday.

That’s much easier said than done. As Joe pointed out yesterday after speaking to a former Manhattan prosecutor and current defense attorney in the Big Apple, Bowers and his counsel are going to have to disco dance through legal hoops for Bowers to walk on these charges.

Just like player agents, Joe is always suspicious of hired-gun attorneys boasting of their client’s innocence. Why? Well, have you ever heard an attorney say of his client, “He was caught with the bloody glove and we are throwing ourselves at the mercy of a jury of his peers for lenience?”

Of course not. Lawyers and agents have agendas, and Joe has no issue with that. Part of said agenda is putting up a desired front.

Phil Loadholt would be a massive addition

Here’s what we know about the Bucs’ right tackle position:

1) Overpaid free agent Jeremy Trueblood is sure to have a new address
2) Demar Dotson is barely starting caliber
3) Greg Schiano wants to run the football
4) Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik has only drafted one offensive lineman in four years (he was cut) and prefers to not draft them

So given how much Schiano wants competition, and right tackle is the weakest link on the offensive line, you can safely bet the position will be addressed this offseason.

That’s a good thing, writes 98.7 FM host and draft guru Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski. The Commish explains it’s a buyers’ market at right tackle.

Bottom Line: Mark Dominik and the Bucs have invested a lot of money into their offensive line with the resigning of Donald Penn and Davin Joseph, and the addition of Carl Nicks in free agency. With that investment, the Bucs have not settled on a true right tackle. With the amount of offensive tackles available, it should be a buyers’ market and teams looking for a tackle could get a good deal. I think the Bucs should inquire about Andre Smith and Branden Albert, but I’d be fine if the Bucs ended up with Sebastian Vollmer or Phil Loadholt. With the physical style the Bucs like to use on offense, Loadholt might be the best target. He’d also give the Bucs the biggest offensive line in the NFL. #FGU

Top Free Agents: Jake Long (MIA), Branden Albert (KC), Ryan Clady (DEN), Andre Smith (CIN), Sebastian Vollmer (NE), Phil Loadholt (MIN), Gosder Cherilus (DET)

Loadholt is an interesting cat. He’s gargantuan, listed at 6-8, 343 pounds. And in a breakdown yesterday of Vikings free agents, Vikings beat writers at the Star-Tribune called Loadholt “a mauler” in the running game.

Joe would love to have another true mauler on the line. One great way to close out games is to run the football, rather than what Schiano did against the Eagles, set up a punt and rely on your league-worst secondary.

Superagent Drew Rosenhaus told Joe he’s not talking about Michael Bennett’s contract negotiations

Joe talked to oily yet very cordial superagent Drew Rosenhaus this morning, but Rosenhaus said he won’t comment on Michael Bennett’s contract negotiations with the Bucs, or anything related to Bennett. So that leaves Joe to speculate.

Given the fresh legal troubles of Da’Quan Bowers, who could get sacked big time by New York City courts, it’s reasonable to wonder whether that situation will affect the Bucs’ approach to re-signing Bennett. He’ll be on the open market in 21 days if the Bucs don’t ink him to a new deal or tag him as a franchise player before the March 4 franchise deadline.

Joe has to think Bowers’ gun shenanigans won’t radically change the Bucs’ plans but will at least make them a little more likely to franchise Bennett. They simply can’t afford to lose Bennett for 2013. Per BSPN, Bennett played a stunning 84 percent of defensive snaps, and every Bucs fan knows he played well. The Bucs aren’t good enough or deep enough to wave goodbye to Bennett. Plus, they have the cash to spend.

While the franchise tag would cost the Bucs in the neighborhood of $10.5 million for 2013 — and inflated rate for Bennett — it at least lets them avoid guaranteeing Bennett $20 million over, say, three years, which is likely what he’d be seeking in a new contract.

Joe has no clue how this might shake out, and Joe couldn’t press Rosenhaus into any hints.

In the wake of Bucs defensive end Da’Quan Bowers getting pinched for having a loaded gun at LaGuardia Airport in New York yesterday, details about the arrest as well as what Bowers could expect from the State of New York are leaking out.

Of course, Joe already dove into the legal hurdles Bowers must climb in order to avoid jail time altogether.

Shane Dixon Kavanaugh and Kerry Burke of the New York Daily News had a gripping blow-by-blow of what went down at LaGuardia Monday morning with Bowers.

Bowers — a second-round draft pick in 2011 who played college ball at Clemson University — was collared after he waltzed up to a US Airways check-in counter about 10:50 a.m. and told a ticketing agent he was packing a Smith & Wesson, authorities said.

The New York Post reports Bowers had the gun in his baggage on the flight to New York and didn’t realize it until he arrived at his hotel.

For those who fly regularly or infrequently, when checking bags, agents are asked if you have any dangerous items or firearms. Bowers, honest yet naively, stated, yes he did.

Next thing you know, Bowers was hauled away in cuffs.

Now Bowers was charged with the very same thing NFL wide receiver Plaxico Burress was slapped with and he spent the better part of two years in the hole.

But as Mike Florio, the creator, curator and overall guru of ProFootballTalk.com and a former practicing attorney, points out, the circumstances are night and day.

Still, prosecutors could regard Bowers’ case differently. Burress took his gun into a Manhattan nightclub, securing it in the waistband of his pants and having it discharge in the building. Though he only shot himself, the end result could have been much worse.

Bowers, if he’d known the severity of the New York law, could have found a way to get rid of the gun short of handing it over and essentially confessing his guilt. Throwing the book at him seems grossly unfair.

Sal Paolantonio, of ESPN, writing when Burress was arrested, noted that nearly 24 percent of those convicted of a lesser felony possession charge  didn’t serve a day in prison, but 24 percent spent one year in jail.

Indeed. Burress put many innocents at risk with his reckless decision. Bowers put no one at risk, and thought he was doing the right thing by telling a ticketing agent of the firearm, surely hoping to learn how to properly check the gun for travel.

If this case goes to trial, and the Burress trial is any barometer, Joe would be shocked if it took place before the end of the 2013 season.

Aside from a few mandatory court appearances, Joe cannot see Bowers missing any playing time as a result this season, barring the long arm of NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell getting involved.

Joe’s exploration of New York public records reveals that Da’Quan Bowers has posted bond and was released from jail this evening following the felony weapons possession charge slapped on him this morning.

His next court date is April 11, right around the time the Bucs will report back to One Buc Palace and begin their offseason program. Per Joe’s chat with a Manhattan defense attorney, Bowers likely will have to be present for all of his court appearances.

A New York defense attorney weighs in on how Da’Quan Bowers might avoid getting sacked

Attorney Jeremy Saland, of Manhattan criminal defense firm Crotty & Saland, was kind enough to go deep with Joe into the prospects for Da’Quan Bowers in New York City court. Reports out of New York have Bowers arrested early today at a LaGuardia International Airport ticket counter. Felony criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree is the charge.

Saland spent seven years as a prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office before spending the past six years in criminal defense, so Joe’s confident his information is excellent.

Saland said there’s an excellent chance Bowers could have his serious felony charge “deviated downward,” aka reduced. The following questions/factors, per Saland, will be keys to Bowers not landing in prison.

1) Was the gun legally obtained and registered properly in Bowers’ home state? Saland said the answer to those questions will be most critical in determining whether Bowers can get leniency out of the Queens district attorney’s office.

2) Was Bowers attempting to legally check the firearm? Or was he taking it through security improperly?

3) Was the gun actually loaded or only “statutorily” loaded?

4) Does Bowers have a criminal record?

Saland went on to say that “collateral consequences” for the individual can be a factor in determining a prosecutor’s willingless to lessen a charge. A school teacher, for example, whose career could be ruined by certain convictions, could have that fact taken into consideration.

Will the Queens District Attorney try to make an example out of Bowers because he’s a celebrity?

“Queens is very reasonable. They will look at this case on it merits,” Saland said. “There’s no reason to think that would happen.”

Because the charge is considered a violent crime, Saland said, it’s likely Bowers will have to physically attend all his court appearances.

Joe, like every other Bucs fan, has his fingers crossed that Bowers’ gun was obtained and registered properly. If not, he quickly could become an answer to a Bucs trivia question, rather than a menace to NFL quarterbacks.

If found guilty of the current charge, Bowers faces a 3 1/2 year minimum sentence.

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Additional news is trickling in about the Da’Quan Bowers gun escapade in New York this morning.

In case you haven’t read, Bowers was pinched for having a not-quite loaded firearm at LaGuardia Airport this morning, which, in so many words, the long arm of the law in New York frowns upon greatly.

The firearm in question was in a carry-on bag.

Now, per USA Today’s Mike Garafalo, Bowers alerted airport security that he had the gun in his bag; it was not detected by security, Garafolo noted on Twitter.

@MikeGarafolo: Spokesman for Queens DA confirms Da’Quan Bowers’ arrest. Says he did not try to go through security with the gun. … Bowers told the folks at the counter he had a gun in his bag when he checked in, Queens DA spokeswoman said.

Joe would hope someone in Queens in authority can look at this and come to the conclusion Bowers, though misguided, meant no harm.

Look, Bowers told authorities of the firearm before it passed through security. Though Bowers was charged with a felony, Joe hopes a judge can see there was no malice intended nor implied.

More details are emerging in what has to be one of the most foolish moves by a Buccaneer in a long time.

Per the New York Post, Da’Quan Bowers’ gun arrest today was at a US Air ticket counter but the “loaded” gun wasn’t really loaded.

A muscle-bound NFL lineman was busted at LaGuardia Airport today for packing a loaded .40 caliber Smith & Wesson pistol.

Da’Quan Bowers – a second-year defensive end for the Tampa bay Buccaneers – was arrested at 11 a.m. at a US Air ticket counter as he was about to board a plane for North Carolina.

Sources believe Bowers arrived in New York with the gun on Friday, and was carrying the piece and a clip with eight rounds in a carry-on bag.

“The two of them were in the same bag, under the law it’s considered a loaded gun,” the source said.

Joe gets tight gun laws, but calling a weapon loaded when it’s not ridiculous. What next? Could Joe claim he fornicated with Rachel Watson when Joe and she only shook hands?

Bucs defensive end Da’Quan Bowers was detained and charged with a handgun violation at LaGuardia Airport this morning, per NBC New York.

Bowers was arrested while checking in for a flight with a loaded gun.

Da’Quan Bowers, a defensive end for the Buccaneers, was arrested at a check-in counter after he was found with a loaded .40 caliber firearm in his carry-on bag, spokesmen for the Port Authority and the Queens District Attorney’s office said. He was about to board a US Airways flight to Raleigh, North Carolina.

The former All-American player was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. A spokesman for the Buccaneers said Bowers is currently declining to comment as the organization investigates.

He’s scheduled to appear in court Monday evening.

Now Joe has dealt with Bowers many times and he’s been gracious with Joe and very kind and cooperative. Joe really believes Bowers is a smart guy.

However, forgetting you had a loaded rod with you walking into an airport — in New York, no less — is just not thinking.

Yes, the Bucs need a cornerback desperately. So much so that Joe wouldn’t be shocked if Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik selected two corners in the first two days of the draft.

Some believe the Bucs also have a hole at tight end, a pressing need. So how could the Bucs take care of both corner and tight end in the draft? This question was posed to Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune in a recent TBO Bucs Q&A.

Q. So lets say the bucs draft either Xavier Rhodes or Dee Milliner at DB. Do you see us trading back into the first round with one of our 4th round picks and our only second round pick, and take Tyler Eifert at TE?

Tee Ware, Plantation

A. I can definitely see a scenario like that playing out. It fits the pattern that GM Mark Dominik has followed in the past in terms of adding more premium picks and your selections fill what I see as the two biggest areas of need right now. The only thing I see differently than you is the order in which the Bucs might pull off such a deal. Based on the way the draft is shaping up right now, I don’t see them getting Milliner at No. 13, but I do believe they will have a shot at Eifert there. Then they can possibly work a deal to get a cornerback, possible Rhodes, either in the second or late in the first round.

Woody Cummings

Here is where it gets interesting: Today, in his must-read “Monday Morning Quarterback” on SI.com, Peter King spoke with Mike Mayock who doesn’t believe many — if any — teams will trading up in the draft because of the void of top-shelf talent. While the draft is deep at many positions, such as corner, there are few players that stand head and shoulders above the rest.

If teams are having a difficult time trying to trade down, as King believes because few teams will want to trade up, Dominik just might be able to trade back up in the latter stages of the first round (much like he did last year when he procured Doug Martin).

That is, after he drafts Xavier Rhodes.

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NFL Network was way off the mark

Joe knows many Bucs fans are outraged when the team is disrespected by national media.

Sometimes it’s hypersensitivity; sometimes not. Joe’s rarely annoyed by such things, though Joe must confess he was somewhat pissed when highlight shows across major networks, including the Man Channel, NFL Network, focused on how Cam Newton lost in Tampa last opening day, rather than on how the Bucs and the New Schiano Order burst onto the scene.

For those who track such things, NFL Network delivered a puzzling State of the NFC South segment last week. The seven-minute video completely ignored the Bucs, except for a brief graphic display (gee, thanks) and a joking reference to Mike Shula, who’s now the Panthers’ offensive coordinator.

Knowing how these features are thoroughly are scripted, Joe’s rather surprised the NFL Network producers said, essentially, screw the Bucs.

Joe wonders whether this who-cares attitude will be adopted by TV executives when it comes time to decide whether to put the Bucs on national TV in 2013.

He’s unlikely to be a Buccaneer for long, but Eric Wright isn’t acting like it. He’s certainly been talking the talk on Twitter, and also via his website.

In a recent entry titled, The Learning Curve and Having Perspective, Wright wrote about Greg Schiano being completely focused on the ways of the New Schiano Order and not the won-loss column.

It was a matter of coming in and building a culture where winning is expected, hard work is expected and the process is more important than the results. He wanted to focus on the process and not the result, and I think we took things like that into consideration as far as helping us get to where we want to be.

Joe read this and couldn’t help but remember Schiano going wild to the secondary, and specifically Anthony Gaitor, against Atlanta during the final game of the season. He was screaming various forms of “Do your job.” It was like Schiano’s end-of-the-season, last stand for the “process.”

Schiano said multiple times last season how much more he would be able to accomplish in the 2013 offseason because his team would come in knowing the “process” of the New Schiano Order, and new players — draft picks and free agents — would be able to adapt faster because most of their peers could help show them the way.

Joe can’t wait to see it, coach. Your team returns in about seven weeks.

Much to Jeremy Trueblood’s chagrin, it is highly unlikely he gets slapped with a franchise tag by Mark Dominik.

Counting down the hours until the world’s largest indoor track practice, the NFL scouting combine, means we are nearing the end of the silly season.

The NFL silly season is when fans, desperate for football news in the dead of winter and still fighting off the hunger pangs for football developed since the end of the Super Bowl, try to determine who signs who and who drafts who and who gets slapped with a franchise tag.

Enter the creator, curator and overall guru of Pro Football Talk, the great Mike Florio. The new star of NBC Sports cobbled together an exhaustive list of who may be or could be or should be hit with a franchise tag from every team in the NFL.

And yes, Florio offers a couple of suggestions for Bucs fans. A tag may/could/should be placed on either defensive end Michael Bennett or right tackle Jeremy Trueblood.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs plans to spend on keeping their own guys. When it comes to using the tag, it’s a toss-up between tackle Jeremy Trueblood and defensive end Michael Bennett, or neither.

Now knowing Florio and his sarcasm and wit, Joe thinks he was having fun with Bucs fans and was just being a wiseacre to suggest Trueblood could/should/may get hit with a franchise tag. Joe’s confident Trueblood has played his last snap in a Bucs uniform. He got Wally Pipp’ed by Demar Dotson, a cool guy, a hard worker, but not exactly the best run blocker in the NFL.

Is Dotson valuable on the bench? You know it. Is he an above average starter? Well, not really. This is why some people, including “The Godfather,” Gil Brandt, think Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik drafts a right tackle in the first round.

This video really warmed Joe’s heart. Bucs fans can take great pride in undrafted cornerback Leonard Johnson. The pride of Largo High has been busy this offseason. Alex Halsted, of Iowa State News, tells the story.

Congratulations, Leonard.