Bucs, LB Joe agree to terms

One other transaction of note today: the Bucs have agreed to terms with LB Leon Joe, a player claimed off waivers by Tampa Bay last preseason before being released at final cuts.

Joe, 26, is a veteran of four NFL seasons and played sparingly in eight games with Buffalo in 2007.

Joe would likely compete for a backup role in the Bucs' linebacking corps. The Bucs have a solid starting group in Derrick Brooks, Barrett Ruud and Cato June.

Joe, an outside linebacker, played college ball at Maryland.

Comments

[Fred Sutter]

Bryant Johnson....D.J. Hackett...Mewelde Moore...Drayton Florence. These are the names you should be going after Bruce! If you don't spend this money this year, it doesn't roll into next year dumba$$. Have you not seen what the Saints and Falcons are doing in you division?! IDIOT!!

[Carl]

Fred, count to 10...it's football. You are probably the same guy who gets pissed when the Bucs spent a lot of money on free agents 4 years ago and few panned out. Why spend a ton of money on guys that have never proven themselves? Not that the Bucs are the Patriots, but the Pats never seem to overextend themselves and they seem to do all right.

[frantman2]

Well said, Carl. The Bucs are doing just fine.

[Ray]

What are you saying? Throw money at some average player who I bet are asking for a lot? Don't worry about the money get rolled into next year. I would much rather give that money for extension contracts for Graham and White and resturcturing Galloway's contract. They all need to get paid more than these average players. The problem with some of you folks here is you are looking at what other teams are doing. Who cares? Really who cares? The only best FA was Moss. but, let's be honest he was not going to leave Patriots.

[Tuol Ting]

WRONG! The bucs just hiked ticket prices by more than 30% in some cases....I'm not gonna fork over that kind of cash to see Happy Gilmore and Jimmy Wilkerson. With that kind of loot to spend, why didn't they make a play fro Randy Moss? Their WRs are awful....I hope they get Javon Walker

[Jay]

Tuol, I appreciate your concerns but everyone knows that Happy Gilmore's strengths are better suited for golf, and not for football. However, Bobby Boucher is one hell of a linebacker. Too bad Dan Snyder signed him to a 5 year, $79 million dollar contract.

[InsiderInfo]

The Bucs are not overly giddy with whats available in free agency this year. But they are working towards a couple of really good trades.... IF they pan out.. Stay tuned GRASSHOPPERS... and keep some faith!

[Ray]

The bottom line is they have to spend about $28 mil more this year to meet the minium requirement for the salary cap. I am sur they will use that money some other lesser known FAs (players like White who before this season most of us did not know about), the draft, and the extension contracts for some of our own players who deserve is. Let's be honest we don't exactly what Moss wanted from the Pats. But, he did sign with them. IMO I never thought he was going to leave the Pats period. in all honesty he was the best player in the FA.

[Ray]

Well, I guess I should proof read before I post. Well, I guess you can figure out what I am saying.

[bruce allen]

Can someone help me out?? All this salary cap stuff is confusing me and I'm in way over my head.

[cory s]

Remember the last interview with gruden after the giants loss? "And while were on national tv, any of you veteran free agents, we're open for business." LMAO!!! Anyways I feel we'll be fine as long as we get one reciever atleast as good as javon walker before the draft and a nickel corner. Buchanon will do fine as a starter, but we still need a solid nickel. Get another reciever and depth at defensive positions in the draft. Just my 2 cents.

[kurt]

i hope buchanon doesn't have to start. that scares the hell out of me. we're pretty much fine at all positions besides DL, so i think they are just being very judiciious and making good moves. our team was pretty good last year and we sustained a lot of injuries. we're just getting better day by day...

[Dwayne]

i reall dont understand wat is goin on in Buc world, but i believe in my team and maybe were not signing these high price FA's for a reason, maybe gruden knows wat he has and is willing to give clayton and stovall a chance and i hope my boy parris warren gets a chance in games this year His knee is just fine i see him at least once a weekend in sacramento, or maybe were waitin for a couple players to get released, i think its a strecth but we should give charles rodgers a chance you never know he might do good in our sytstem just a thought though.

I doubt if there is anybody out there still watching this blog, but I want to remind people the lesson the illustrious, and too painfully stupid to be rich, Daniel Snyder has taught us as he stocked the Redskins primarily with big name free agents and came up empty. Remember he actually paid “No longer in his prime time” millions, tossed away Brad Johnson for Jeff “big arm” George, and so forth and so on. What short memories everybody has. It is way to early to right off this offseason as a waste. Aside from all the speed that will be available in the draft, there are always trade possibilities, and there will be more players come available in June. I am actually pleased to see Gruden restrain himself. Remember Tim Brown and Charlie Garner? By the way, for all the Moss and Stallworth hoopla they didn’t get it done against the Giants. Considering how many good players the Patriots have it is obvious that if you can’t block, tackle, and rush the passer, big money receivers aren’t going to help. I think we should wait until at least July before deciding that Gruden/Allen have completed screwed up the offseason, I mean 4 days, come on. Last year in New York the fans for pretty sure they were right about Coughlin and Manning, and now we know what they would have missed out on if ownership had listened to the fans and fired Coughlin and sat or cut Manning! Whoa, I think I need to sit down after thinking about that!

[anthony]

I dont know what everybody is thinking but I know that something needs to be done about our offense. Gruden has had six years to get this bottem of the league offense up to pare. im not worried about our D its been the best for a decade. if we had a good O along with the D we would have won 4 superbowls by now its time for them to do something im tired of waiting.

[InsiderInfo]

hmm

[Turk]

Hey InsiderInfo whoever you are, why doncha just spill the beans instead of toying with us, huh? LOL I mean it's not yer gonna get arrested or anything.

[DR]

Great trades like Griese? HAHA! This team doesn't want to win period. The worst owners in the league. Snyder screwed up bad in DC but at least he tried. The Bucs are raising prices and blowing off any chance to get better. The Bucs have done nothing significant the last 4 years via free agency or trades so inside info is probably BSing.

[Matt]

What are we going to trade with?
We need the 1st, 2nd & 3rd rounders to get a CB, DT & RB.

If Bruce Allen thinks he's going to get Chad Johnson for Chris Simms and Lito Sheppard from Philly for Sammy Morris he really needs to stop doing Bong hits while working.

I agree that the Free Agent Class hasn't been great but Alge Crumpler signed a 2 year deal for only $5.25m. We couldn't out bid that ??

[Joey Baggadonutz]

With names like Asante Samuel, Alge Crumpler, Javon Walker, Bernard Berrian, Michael Turner, Randy Moss, Randal Gay, Devery Henderson, Aaron Stecker, etc. on the market... We get Leon Joe and are in persuit of Warrick Dunn? Because that will defenitely get us back to the playoffs!

[Jim Mora]

Playoffs? Are you kidding me!?! Don't talk about... playoffs?

[Sum Ting Wong]

this a off season very trying for long time Buc fan

mussa sign big time wide rec

[Mike]

DR so are you saying the Bucs should be overpaying for mediocre players just because they have free cap space? Come on man I have read your posts and I know you are more logical than that. This years free agents were not very good at all. Moss and Samuel were the only two players that I would have liked to see the Bucs make a run at. I still think Philly paid way too much for Samuel. As far as doing nothing significant in free agency the last 4 years, huh? I think we had a Pro Bowl quarterback last year picked up via free agency. B.J. Askew looked pretty good too. Greg White was technically a free agent since he wasn't drafted, right? They have certainly had busts but the good has outweighed the bad IMO.

[JC]

I can agree with most of the comments here about not overpaying for mediocre talent. However, I still have to wonder about signing Joe, when they drafted 2 linebackers last year and just re-signed Cash. The Bucs also stress their need to rush the passer and they sign Wilkerson, who has 1 sack in the last few years. To me, these are throwaway signings. I don't have a problem not getting one of the FA wideouts, IF, and it's a HUGE IF, Gruden actually gives Clayton, Stovall, and Warren a chance. He's shown he CAN trust young players, but he needs to stick with them if he wants them to develop.

[aaron]

BRETT FARVE RETIRED.....

[Mad_Mariner]

We need to get our young players developed, I'm tired of seeing us spend money on players that have 1 sack last year or claimed off waivers! Loved Dunn when he was with us but really, his wheels are about to fall off! Do we really need more old players? I'm ready for the Bucs to put ensure next to the Gatorade.

[blueprint]

To not even make a run at the top tier guys is very heartbreaking.With all the cap space we should've made a play for Moss.I agree that as a whole the free agent class is mediorce at best.Javon Walker is the next best thing but he may be like every other free agent we've brought in and reject us.Is it Gruden?I'm a buc fan but I don't live in Tampa so I don't have first hand knowledge,but something has to be wrong.

[andrew]

okay, listen. For everyone critisizing Bruce Allen, how the hell do you win a division title and have the MOST cap space in the NFL the following year?! he must be doing something right. I personally think we will make a splash in trades or in the draft. Something big will happen with $28 mill to spend. Until then, expect to sign some more 2nd tier players to build depth. Every team needs depth and every team signs plenty of "no namers" so dont get your panties tied in a knot!

[DR]

Mike, they picked up a pro bowl Qb (after other QBs dropped out)that couldn't last the entire season. His lack of playing time at the end of the season hurt the team. He was a good pick up, but he is not a long term solution for the team.
Unfortunately, the supply and demand curve in football isn't fair. The fact that the Bucs aren't a Super Bowl contender is probably a factor as well. They do have money to spend. Crumpler is better than any TE the Bucs have. Moss is obviously far better than any WR the Bucs have. Brooks will need a replacement, Barber is getting older.
I agree, Samuel's contract was over the top, but the Bucs can't sit here with 44M and whine about players contracts when they don't have any top quality players left on the team. Every player in the league is overpaid to some degree.
A lot of the players are above average in the free agent market and are better than what the Bucs have.

[Mike]

There isn't a single LB or CB free agent available that would take Brooks' or Barber's job. Crumpler is certainly better than who we have now but we made a run at him and didn't get him. Maybe he didn't like what he saw. We don't know what happens during these visits. Its not always about the $$. And I disagree with your opinion about no top quality players on this team. I consider Garcia a top notch player along with Galloway, Brooks, & Barber. Maybe they trade for a top notch player and assume his contract.

[blueprint]

I know were Bucs fans but let's not kid ourselves,Jeff Garcia was a Pro Bowl replacement.Not to mention that he is 39 years old.We need young talent NOW!!!
Greise is a retread who's never gotten it right.To miss out on every free agent who came to visit is sad.

[JC]

Not to take away too much from what the Bucs did last year, Andrew, but they were champions of one of the worst divisions in football. The disparity between the talent level the Bucs have as opposed to the NFC as a whole was painfully clear against Dallas, and again against New York.

[The Man]

Hey Andrew, here's your answer to "how the hell do you win a division title and have the MOST cap space in the NFL the following year?!" It's called: because the NFC South was one of the weakest divisions last season. Nuff said?

[The Man]

Mike... are you kidding me? Galloway, Garcia, Brooks, & Barber are no longer top notch players. Maybe if we were rolling into the 2002 season, yes, but this is 2008 last time I checked. Garcia, as much as I admire his talent, drive, and heart, cannot complete a full season at 100%. Brooks showed he's lost a step last season. Barber got faked out of his shoes several times, most memorably by Eli Manning in the playoffs (after Barber ran his mouth on Eli's inconsistency no less). Galloway couldn't catch a pass in traffic if his life depended on it. There is not a single top quality player on this team, and the quality free agents out there know this. They want rings, not excuses.

[Mike]

Garcia was third in the NFC in passer rating. Brooks was second on the team in tackles. Barber was a lock down corner most of the year while becoming the ONLY cornerback to reach 20 sacks and 20 int's in a career. Galloway just had his third consecutive 1000 yard season while averaging over 17 yds per reception. So what team were you watching?

[The Man]

I was watching the team that had Brooks getting beat in pass coverage, Barber getting faked out cuz he was angled for a pick instead of coverage, Galloway letting passes go through his hands cuz he was afraid of getting hit, and Garcia running for his life and getting injured because his recievers are pu$$ies who cant catch passes over the middle. You know... the Bucs!

[Mike]

We must have watched WAY different teams bro! I'm not saying they were breaking records but they were not anywhere near as bad as you see it.

[The Man]

That's cuz you have your Peter and Red colored glasses you're watching through. Fact is, they need to quit wasting time with "has beens" and "never weres" on their roster, like this Average Joe cat. Playmakers are what they need. The Bucs Super Bowl team had play makers.

[The Man]

Keyshawn Johnson had a bad attitude and was arrogant, but rightfully so! He could make a Brad Johnson lame duck pass look good. Go back and watch the video. The dude caught passes that were off target, and in double and sometimes tripple coverage. What reciever do we have that can say that? Your precious Galloway? Hell no!

[The Man]

Hilliard is the only guy there who lays himself out there for his QB, but one is not enough. Especially when the guy calling the plays is trying to force every pass to Galloway. Just look at the playoff loss to the Giants. Once Joey got hurt, the game was over. Why? Because Galloway was Grudens game plan. Gruden was trying to show everyone that he was right getting rid of Johnson. I like Gruden alot, but his ego is destroying the team.

[The Man]

Fans that moan because their precious Sapp, Lynch, etc. are gone are also to blame for giving the organization grief which has no justification. Do you like the team, or just the players? Brooks should retire, as well as Barber. Garcia is a good #2 as is the fact for Galloway.

[The Man]

Loyalty to has been players has to stop. Cato June filled in for Brooks in one game and what happened? Brooks bitched about it. Great team player huh. Kiffen shoulda kept up with that idea, instead of putting aging vets out there to get worn out by the 3rd quarter.

[Mike]

I won't argue the fact that we need playmakers. That is exactly what we need but there are not any out there!!! The guys still available are not worth the dough they are asking for. Who do you want, Bryant Johnson, DJ Hackett, Javon Walker? these guys are either injury prone or never broke out. Draft a stud receiver or two! Draft another RB. as far as your take on the guys we have now, well, I am not going to debate this with you since you obviously have your opinion (which thankfully the people who run this team don't share with you) and i have mine. I will take my #2 QB who was a stud last year along with my #2 WR who at his age still posses more speed than most receivers in the league and watch them prove you wrong next year.

[The Man]

What do you get from a speedy WR with no hands? Or an old LB who refuses to retire, who the team won't cut because of their fear of losing even more season ticket holders... not that raising the prices helped with that...

[The Man]

As far as who I wanted? Crumpler, for one, would have been an incredible upgrade at TE. Turner would have been nice as well. Not to mention Berrian. They didn't even attempt to sign Moss. Playmakers dont come cheap, but this team has proven over time that they do not have the skills required to draft and develop high quality playmakers. The few players they do get via the draft which start out well, end up injured for life from over use (Caddy) or a severe head case (Clayton). So go ahead and tell me again why I should have faith in the Bucs scouting department?

[The Man]

hmm... watch them miss the playoffs, you mean?

[Jon & Al]

Can we help it if we do not have a clue what we are doing? And can not spot talent?

[Skylar]

Wow...the ignorance is getting to me. How can you say a guy who has 4.2 speed and is coming off his 3rd consecutive 1000 yd campaign is a has been? Or the 6th best tackler at his position can't keep up? You obviously have your biases, but base them in reality please. We may have been in a weak division, but we won it with 3 weeks left in the season. We easily could have gone 11-5 or 12-4 had we gotten some breaks (i.e. JAX & SEA,) and that's not including the last 3 we gave away! We have the most accomplished coach in the NFL for his age and a great GM who basically turned our fortunes around in 5 years from the CAP HELL McKay left us in. Our team is getting better each year and will continue to do so due to great leadership and excellent player development (i.e. all our O'lineman-just about, Adams, Ruud, Jackson, Graham, White, Haye, Buchanon, Warren, Smith, Galloway-what did he do before he got here?, Stovall, etc., etc., etc.) You naysayers will be wrong again this year because this team is getting more mature, better and will vie for the Lombardi trophy again soon.

[Aaron]

Hey BOY! get a clue...or better yet get a new team! Should we dump all these great Bucs and sign a bunch of journeymen? It's how they play as a team. .which looked awful good to me! We have no idea if they were making a pitch to Moss or anyone else who decided to stay with thier current team. Some of our guys do deserve raises so some of that $40 mil has to stay in the building.

[The Man]

The ignorance displayed here is overwhelming! Just because Galloway is fast does not make him a good reciever. He is one dimensional. Brooks is past his prime. Stop looking at these guys as the great people they are, and look at them as football players. Saying they're past their prime is not an insult to them, just an obvious fact, nor does it take away from their past accomplishments. Skylar, when most of the passes go to Galloway, he damn sure better have over 1000 yards... he's the only one getting the ball thrown to him consistently. That alone does not make him worth it. We probably lost to the Giants in the playoffs because he was too proud to admit he couldn't play. Had he done so, Gruden could have come up with a better game plan then what we had, which was run Graham, throw to Galloway, throw to Galloway, punt, etc. And, by the way, good teams don't need "breaks". They just win.

[The Man]

Tards!

[The Man]

This just in: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have recently informed NFL Commisioner Roger Goodell that they plan to revolutionize the future landscape of NFL playbooks league-wide. The plan involves implementing a completely new offensive philosophy, in which the team will field an offense made up entirely of quarterbacks. This new wrinkle, combined with the masturful wizardry known as "Jon Grudens' Play Calling", will stifle and confuse even the most accomplished NFL defensive minds. Bucs Defensive Coordinator Monte Kiffen, after meeting with Gruden this afternoon, has released the following statement: "Jeez! I don't know what to say... that playbook makes me feel about as intelligent as John Madden sounds on TV!!!". Roger Goodell could not be reached for comment, however Gruden plans to release more info at a press conference to be held tomorrow at 10am Eastern.

[Mike]

The Man either didn't watch Bucs games this year or just doesn't know what he is watching. I'm going to give you some stats so you don't continue making a fool out of yourself. IKE HILLIARD was the leading receiver with 62 receptions. Galloway had 57. Therefore most of the passes did not in fact go to Galloway. The reason that Galloway had 1000 yards is because he averaged 17.8 yds per catch. Earnest Graham was third with 49 receptions.

[The Man]

Therefore, you're retarded Mike! Hilliard catches most of whats thrown to him, unlike Galloway, who was thrown to the most. Hilliard is just a better reciever, who caught 5 more of what ws sent his way idiot.