Caddy likely sidelined for start of camp

Running back Cadillac Williams wasted no opportunity during the offseason to reinforce how far he has come in his remarkable and inspiring rehabilitation from last season's devastating knee injury.

By all accounts, the coaching and medical staffs agree, but that doesn't mean they're willing to take chances and rush the recovery of 2005's No. 5 overall draft pick.

Though no announcement has been made, indications are Williams is headed for the Physically Unable to Perform List when camp opens next week in Lake Buena Vista.

Because players who begin the preseason on the active roster cannot subsequently move to the PUP list, the Bucs must to make the designation before they begin their first practice, scheduled for July 26 at Disney. But in the preseason, PUP isn't nearly as restrictive as during the regular season. In fact, Williams would be eligible to be activated from the list at any time during the preseason. Furthermore, he won't count toward the 80-man cap on the active roster, giving the Bucs some relief from today's stricter roster limits. The drawback for Williams is that he will not be permitted to practice with the club while listed on PUP.

Williams' continued recovery will be one of the stories we'll be watching intently during training camp. If he truly is as close to resuming his career as he has indicated, the Bucs will perhaps have to make some tough decisions about their stable of running backs, one that already includes Warrick Dunn, Michael Bennett and Earnest Graham.

If Williams -- who suffered a torn patellar tendon last September -- remains on the PUP list once the regular season begins, additional restrictions take effect. He must remain there for at least the first six weeks, after which the team would have a three-week window in which to evaluate the player in practices and decide whether to activate him.

In an unrelated development, keep an eye on negotiations between first-round pick Aqib Talib and the Bucs, as the team seems to have prioritized Talib's deal over the remaining unsigned rookies. Tampa Bay's first-round pick has typically been the last to sign in recent seasons, but there appears to be a great deal of ongoing dialogue between general manager Bruce Allen and agent Todd France. If they can make a breakthrough, the Bucs could have their man signed with time to spare.

Comments

[Valrico Rick]

This is really a no brainer. Williams ends up on IR this year, either early, or at the six week mark after starting the season on the PUP. With three very good backs, and all of them have new contracts, the Bucs aren’t planning on bringing Williams back this year, they will just let him continue to rehab and move him to IR before he takes up a roster spot. As I mentioned before, unless they are going to risk only keeping one fullback, and that is not likely, they won’t keep four tailbacks. Taking up six rosters spots with running backs and fullbacks will squeeze the receivers down to 4, or tight ends to 2, and Gruden loves tight ends. No I believe this issue has already been decided!

[DR]

Three very good backs? Who? Dunn, Graham, and Bennett? This is so pathetic! Cadillac is way better then those three even when he is injured... and Cadillac stinks! With the exception of his record setting first three games rookie start, he has not done anything worth taking note of. He needs to stay on IR this season and then retire. No one has successfully overcome a knee injury like this before (and it isn't like the Bucs are missing anything anyway). What the Bucs should have done is signed Julius Jones (not bring old-man Dunn back, let whiny Graham go, and maybe kept Bennett). Jones was clearly the best RB on the market this year given his remarkable service with the Cowboys (you watch, he will take the rushing title this year by a land slide). Gruden and Allen show yet again that they don't know what they are doing.

[DR]

Okay, what idiot is posting under my name?
Julius Jones is an average RB, similar to Caddy. Neither has proven anything in the NFL. They both had short streaks of good games. They can't catch the ball either. The Bucs should put Caddy on the PUP for the regular season and then look for him in Week 7. Ask better RBs who had less severe knee injuries, ACL tears, truly how long it took for them to get back to 100% and they all will tell you it was over a year. EJ, Davis, and McCalister have been quoted on this. The Bucs have EG who proved himself last year to handle the load while Caddy recovers. There is no need to rush Caddy back and ruin his career.
Julius Jones isn't as good as his older brother, who was allowed to walk away from Tampa, and would still be the starter for the Bucs right now.

[Chris]

Dunn has shown he can be very effective, and who knows how much more so in Gruden's system. EG just gets it done, period. Every club needs that kind of workhorse back, to grind out yards and wear down defenses, to provide consistent yardage. And Michael Bennett has yet to have his chance to shine, in my opinion. He could go either way, but his unfamiliarity with the offense lead to scarce playing time last season.

So yeah, I agree the bucs do have the potential for 3 very good backs... Gruden and Allen will do just fine. Everybody focuses on media hyped crap like Stevens and Boston, but forgets the great pickups, like Ruud, Gaines Adams, Greg White, Tanard Jackson, not to mention the young, solid offense line they;ve put together.... Cadillac has at least the potential to return to his first season form. Gru-Allen have made some good decisions in the interests of keeping this team competitive for the long term, and I think will continue to do so.

[nick]

Yeah, I agree with the second DR that the first DR is an idiot. The Bucs have one of the better running games in the league. And Willis McGahee came back from an even worse knee injury than Caddy's. He'll be back by Week 6. Bennett wont last the whole year. Word is he cant remember where he parked his car much less the playbook. Graham will have more of a short yardage roll. I look forward to having Caddy back. He was coming on before his injury.

[IMISS_No47]

I predict the Bucs will have a good year running the ball. More important than our ball-carriers, our O-line is stacked with young talent. Remember about 4-5 years ago when everyone moaned about our poor line quality? The Bucs have done a great job overhauling the unit and I'm looking forward to our team reaping the dividends for years to come. Improvements in the running game will be a result of the overhaul moreso than who's carrying the ball.

[DR]

Let's not praise the O-line too much. They got better throughout the year but their last few games were pretty bad to include the playoffs, but the Giants D-line killed everybody in the playoffs so they're excused for that game. The San Fran and Houston game were pretty bad though.

[BN]

Caddy may not be the best pass catcher we have (Graham,Dunn) or pass blocker (Dunn) but he is hands down the best ball carrier on the Bucs roster. The only time Caddy didn't set the field on fire (especially in the 4th Qtr.) was when he was injured or running against a stacked box due to lousy QB play (2006). The same thing happened to Larry Johnson last year and there's no question he's a great RB.

Graham had a better QB and O-line to take the pressure off of him last year. Give Caddy that type of talent to work with and watch the sparks fly!

Boy.. this caddy sure has turned out to be a lemon.

[nick]

Dont forget the Bucs got a center (Jeff Faine) who actually knows what he's doing. Pulling, blocking more downfield. I think Dunn should catch alot of screen passes.

[john]

I think warrick dunn was in as manly a pass catcher.He has very good hands and is elusive out of the back field.Even at 33,he is definitly not a every down back.But I think he will be very good this year as a pass catcher and 3rd down back.

[Yoshi]

First of all i dont know why everyone thinks warrick dunn is such a good pick up hes a old lame-o and we really didnt need him if you ask me , and second cadillac is easily the best RB on the team. No one was saying anything bad about cadillac before he got injured and was putting up record numbers his rookie season, and now that he is injured, he suddenly sucks? Sounds like a bunch of haters to me. And like BN said before cadillac had a much worse o-line to work with and a infinately worse quarterback and he still lit it up. Imagine what he would do if he were healthy now. I agree that he should start the season on the PUP list but once that 7th week comes around he should be back. With EG and cadillac at full strength we'll have a 1 2 punch rivaling that of any team in the NFL. Not to mention the fact that we picked a really good center in Jeff Faine. If cadillac ends up gettin released it will be one of the biggest mistakes this team has made because i guarantee cadillac is going to come back and shut every body up.

P.S The first DR is a IDIOT and so is anybody else who claims to be a buc fan and thinks cadillac sucks.

[George L Hicks]

Hello Football fans. It seems its this time again and what the bucs are going to do. Well I think they should repeat the Division Champs.I think that BJ Askew will be the lone FB. But RB c.Williams,E Graham,M.Bennett,& W.Dunn will carry the running attack mode. With Smith ,Gilmore & Troup as the TE group. At QB will be Garcia,Griese,& Johnson as QB's In the WR/KR group would be Dex Jackson(R),A.Bryant,M Clayton,J Galloway,M Stovall & Paris Warren should be the WR Group this means
that 17 slots would tak up of the 53 team slots. I think Cadillac Willams will not come back untill he is ready. I think with summer camp and Pre-season coming very quickly. It will be fun to see Tampa Offense improve no matter who is at QB. I hope Simms,Stevens matters will be solve like gone. Also QB Garcia should be paid correctly. Go Bucs.

[Kurt]

Did anybody notice the guns on Caddy in that photo? He must have been working out with Pittman before he was let go. I can't wait til he gets back; he's gonna light it up behind that excellent line that we have. I have to say DR that you always leave out a critical point when downgrading the Bucs and that is the O'line played a lot of reserves in the final two games of the season and EG played sparingly also. These things contributed to the O'lines play then. Otherwise, I agree with your statements.

[Kurt]

Isn't Todd France, the agent of our 1st rounder, the same guy that used to kick for us?

[Ft. Myers fan]

12-4, top 10 O and nnumber 1 D we will see our bucs in the superbowl in raymond james. go caddy

[DR]

Yoshi, I am NOT a Bucs fan (I love the Cowboys and like to pester those who don't). Too, Caddy does stink (unless he played for the Cowboys - then he would be awesome!). Remember, this blog gives me the opportunity to flaunt two points: (1) I have the uncanny ability to evaluate talent based solely on stats, and (2) contrary to the first point, every person (coach and player) associated with the Cowboys is better and will always be better than any such person associated with Tampa.

"Remember your mother... I'm taking this boat to Denver!"

[Paul]

This caddy thing has always worried me, I have always been a big buc fan and I live in Dallas. I argued with my brother the day we drafted him. My brother loved the pick but I did not because I thought that he was too prone to injury, even back at Auburn. I hate being right but he hasent shown me he can stay healthy yet. Keeping my fingers crossed though.

[Larry]

I find it amazing that Gruden can bring us an NFC Championship, the Lombardi Trophy, and several NFC South Championships AND Allen can turn around a horrible cap situation and ensure a worry free cap in the upcoming years and do we see posted? "Gruden and Allen show yet again that they don't know what they are doing." Dude, some village somewhere is missing their idiot and you're well qualified for the job. Your problem is you listen to too much on 620 and believe it.

[Skylar]

Paul. Caddy is always hurt because he is (or has had) extensive abuse of steroids. It's blatently obvious by the large jaw muscles. I'm sorry but you don't get enlarged jaw muscles by eating too much; just by steroids. Just like Barry Bonds head getting larger; it's the same thing. When muscles grow that aren't in the workout plan, it's typically a good indicator of steroid abuse. Hopefully, he's gotten past that and his ligaments/tendons have had a chance to catch up with his muscles; then maybe he'll stop getting hurt so much. Caddy, if you can read, STOP DOING STEROIDS!!!

[glenn]

Excellent post, Larry. Those radio shows that rely on stepping on others to try to maintain an audience show their lack of professionalism & innovative capability to do it in a positive way. Duemig, Sileo, Diaz & Beckles on wdae are the pathfinders to crap. None come close to the job performances of Allen & Gruden.

[Juan from Brisbane]

Stephen, please check your facts! After all, it is your job. I'd really love it when writers start to take what they put for public consumption seriously. "Furthermore, he won't count toward the 80-man cap on the active roster." WRONG. Players on the PUP DO COUNT on the 80 man roster.

[Kurt]

Kudos Larry; you're singing my praises! It's amazing how utterly dismal peoples' outlooks are when the best-case scenario is staring them right in the face. I mean we've got our hometown Golden Boy coaching our favorite franchise and he's really good! What more can you ask for? Good observations! GO BUCS!!!

[Big Pat]

DR - to your second point: would that apply in a scenario in which Jon Gruden was the coach of the Cowboys?

"I will always remember your mother."

[DR]

Big Pat... YES it would!

[Juan from Brisbane]

Skylar - Are you kidding me? Williams has NEVER had steroids in his history. Players are tested. For you to throw out such RIDICULOUS allegations and try to pass them off as fact....well, you are beyond comprehension. Try watching the play he was hurt on against Carolina, an ugly hit right as he was nearing the sidelines that caught his leg at an awkward angle. Don't spout off on things you know NOTHING ABOUT. This post is really going downhill. Cowboy fans and now this crap?

[john]

Skylar,dotn start stupid rumors like that you have on proof and theses players get tested all the time.

[jonh]

I cant spell today!

[Cody]

OK, we all know Caddy isn't going to be ready for the regular season. How about updates on some of the injured players that ARE going to be able to help the team this year such as Luke Pettigout, Paris Warren, and Maurice Stovall.

[Shane]

you know ive been wondering about something for a while now. If caddy starts the season on PUP and comes off of it for week 7 the bucs would have 3 weeks to evaluate him before placing him on IR(i'm not completely sure on that 3 weeks though) that would move us to week 10 right. The bucs have a bye week that week so couldn't they just list caddy as #4 on the depth chart to avoid doing that? Or unless the bucs have to have their evaluation done by week nine and then they could try to do what i just said before.

But there is a second(and by far the most optimistic/real) scenario. By week 7 caddy would have more than a complete year of rehab behind him and should be ready to go, the bucs would probably use him in a limited role for the next 2 weeks and then they would have their bye week so that would be close to 14 months of rest and then we could have a 1-2 punch that Gruden has always wanted with EG and Caddy in the backfield.

With either scenario the most important part of it is how fast caddy can come back from this injury. With the trainers and coaches telling us that he is ahead of schedule(whether or not they are just blowing smoke up our arses or not is their secret) the second scenario is the most likely.

[Shane]

and cody referring to your comment if you want info on paris warren, stovall, or luke pettigout buccaneers.com had info on them about 2-3 months ago saying that they are healed up and ready to compete. I think that the most interesting battle this year while be between warren, stovall, and bryant. I think bryant will come out of the preseason as the No.3 guy behind Galloway and Ike. Warren will be our No 4 guy and unfortunately stovall and clayton will be gone after the preseason(i think clayton may stay though bucs spent too much on him to let him go just yet) and Jackson will be No 5 WR and our PR/KR. Stovall and Simms will be on their way out via trade(stovall would increase the value of the trade)

[Cordell]

The Bucs R Buildn The Team Good for the future yea caddy had a big set back but what we need to do is get old ike hillard off the field and get into regular formations such as 3 rec. sets with galloway clayton and jackson or bryant... and actually force feed clayton the ball cuz he can catch ang get his confidence up... and groom josh johnson cuz he has great upside with his accuracy and athletic ability rather then GARBAGE OLD LUKE MCCOWN and we will be fine

[Chucky Cheese]

DR #1 is an idiot. Julius Jones sucks....always has always will.

[Chucky Cheese]

I can't believe it. There is a bigger idiot than DR #1 and that is Skylar.
The only running back the bucs had that was on steroids was that Wife-beater Michael Pittman. Skylar you are a fool.

Larry is right. We are lucky we have Gruden. He took over an aging, cap strapped team and won a superbowl and then was given the job to REBUILD it. Does any lame Tampa fans understand what that means. Our young defenders (RUUD, JACKSON, ADAMS, TALIB, ETC..) Our offensive line is the most under rated story around. These guys are young studs and are THE REASON why Graham had such a good year. Caddy was on his way to a HUGE season BEHIND that line. Which is the youngest line in the entire game. There is only one position (LT) that is sured up for many many years. 620WDAE is the MAIN REASON behind all the GRUDEN HATERS. The man is a FOOTBALL coach, he doesn't need to be nice, hold anybody's hands, or anyof that gooberville stuff everyone talks about. Simms is complaining about how he is treated? Tough! Its football, get over it. Yeah sure, we could have kept Lynch for a few more years, GET OVER IT! Who do you want to hire to replace GRUDEN, ??? JIM ZORN???? HAHAHAHAHAHA. Fans that believe gruden should be fired are idiots...How many SUPERBOWL CALIBER COACHES ARE OUT THERE? Any for those of you that hink that Dungy took us to the superbowl, then gruden took the raiders to the superbowl. Either way he took a team to the superbowl.

[jay]

FIRE JON U SUCK GRUDEN!!!!!!!

[jay]

FIRE LITTLE JONNY GRUDEN U SUCK!

[shane]

there may yet be another person who is a bigger idiot than DR #1 and skylar and that is this little pest named jay

[wadecounty]

hey jay, who do you want to hire to replace him? Let me guess jay your one of those fans that still can't believe we cut joe jurevicious, or that we got rid of warren sapp. Listen, I Loved those guys also, and I am not saying that Gruden's regime has made all the right decisions but you have to look at the BIG PICTURE! 3 NFC SOUTH TITLES IN 6 YEARS. HE AS BEEN A HEAD FOOTBALL COACH FOR 10 YEARS AND WON 6 DIVISION TITLES , BEEN TO AN AFC CHAMPIONSHIP, AND AN NFC CHAMPIONSHIP AND WON A SUPERBOWL. There are only two coaches with more DIVISION TITLES IN THE LAST TEN YEARS.
BELLICHICK AND DUNGY! and I think Dungy took over a pretty good offense huh?

[wadecounty]

6 division titles in ten years! AFC and NFC championship game, and a superbowl. And if it wasn't for the "TUCK" rule, that has since been changed it, could be more. Again, there are only two other coaches with as good of resumes in the last decade. THATS IT, THOSE ARE THE FACTS! You all have no argument. NONE! GRUDEN is the man, you all that hate him are just that, HATERS!

[shane]

Gruden is the man who certain people love to hate

[E]

I say cut Dunn and make cadilac the 2nd string until he is healthly. We got enough over 40 players on this team.

[Scott]

I do not understand the delusional Caddie supporters on here. I like the guy, but I think that he is a mediocre back at best. He only has a name because he set a 3 game record to begin his career due to one long carrie at the end of a game against the Vikings (when they needed a stop as time ran down and sold out the defense) and then a kazillion carries the next two games. He has really done nothing in his career, he cant catch the ball, fumbles way too much, has a terrible career yards per carry. Graham is a much better back, will get you 3 or 4 yards per carry, can catch the ball, rarely fumbles. Are you guys blind? How many times do you have to watch Caddie do the tire drill after a hand off before he just dives forward for a one yard loss? Get real please....

[DR]

I find it ironic how you guys think and talk. You praise Gruden for division titles and then dog other teams for losing in the playoffs, after yours did. You dog the Cowboys for losing in the playoffs, but wait, they won a division title! In easily, the toughest division in the league! You guys are just showing how low Tampa is compared to other franchises. Your expectations are much lower. You have a loser mentality. The Giants didn't win their division so should they have an asterisk next to their SB title? The Giants were better than the Bucs and the Seahawks but played in a far better division. My point is winning a division is nothing to be proud of, especially when you only have to win 9 games to win it. I'm not saying that the Bucs wouldn't have pulled out another win if they played their players (I'm sure Garcia would have liked that so he didn't get rooked out of a bonus), but that is how weak the division was and its a blatant fact. As much as I don't like Gruden as a coach, I don't think Gruden is proud of the division title he won last year. I think he would rather come in second place and win in the wild card round. Thats something to be proud of, winning in the playoffs.

[Yoshi]

DR i dont know what you are talking about! The AFC south is definately the toughest division in the NFL

[shane]

yoshi is right lets see how well the cowgirls would do if they swapped places with the texans. And DR the 'girls lost in their first playoff game this year and the year before last because Romo is MR. CHOKE. the bucs lost in the first game because many key players were hurt, Sears, June, Galloway, Jackson, and the fact that the bucs are not a run-defense type. Until your team wins in the playoffs(something it hasn't done in the past 14 years) stop bashing the bucs for not winning in the playoffs(yes i know its been six years)

[DR]

Just because the Bucs lost 3 out of 4 games to the South doesn't by any means make the South the best division. The AFC South is second best. The Eagles, Redskins, Giants, and the 'Boys are better than the Texans and Titans.
To call Romo Mr. Choke is a joke. SHows your football knowledge. Do you have a rainbow sticker on the back of your car Shane? The Bucs could have been 100% healthy and still would have lost the game. Galloway doesn't show up to playoff games. If anybody is to blame for the Cowboys losses, it's the Cowboys. Romo doesn't play defense and Romo doesn't drop pin point accurate balls. You all love Favre and yet he is the biggest choke artist of all time. Know the game before you speak, I know thats asking a lot.

[Yoshi]

HOLD UP, HOLD UP, HOLD UP. Who said anything about liking favre? The article doesnt have anything to do with favre. DR it seems to me like you are the one that needs to get your facts straight. The colts and the jaguars would crush the cowboys and any other team in that division and the titans would do it to, on a good day. I dont know why you think your division is so good. I mean really who do the eagles have? A broke down quarterback with a broke down offense to go with it, not to mention the sorry defense. Lets examine the redskins shall we. All they have is clinton portis ( from THE U!!!). They dont even have a quarterback to throw to there lame receivers with the exception of santana moss ( from THE U!!!) and who do they have on defense?
Lets go on to the superbowl champs. Everyone knows that the giants are a one hit wonder and the only reason they won was because of the d. But think about it, Eli is sorry unless you jumped on the Eli band wagon after the superbowl and besides Plax who do they have? With the loss of Michael Strahan, the line is not going to be the same, not to mention their safety who also left and TE jeremy shockey. With all the picks eli threw, makin it to the playoffs was sheer luck. Now lets move on to the dallas cowboys or should i say the Dallas Penitentiary. The only reason dallas is good is because they have all the good trouble makers. Pacman cant stay out of trouble, Tank is another one and Roy williams cant make a tackle without it being a horse collar. I wouldnt be surprised if you signed chris henry to replace terry glenn. Or what about trading for marshawn lynch to go with marion barber lol. You talk about joey galloway not showing up to the playoffs but i didnt see tony HOMO there either. And you think hes not a CHOKER? Mr. butterfingers couldnt even win a game that was already won. Who the heck drops a snap for a game-winning field goal or throws a ball in triple coverage with the game on the line? I bet if the giants would have forfeited, the game would have ended in a tie lol! Tony would have found SOME way to choke lol. The cowboys make all this noise during the season and just fizzle out at the end. So i dont know what you are talkin about, that your team is the best because i seem to remember that the team you lost to was the same team that we lost to. I am ashamed that we lost to Eli, of all people, but "the big D", "americas team" had all this hype and aint make it past the first game. All those nick names and you got nuttin to show for it. Her it goes i got a new nickname for you guys.... how about "D Block" lol it has a nice ring to it and it describes the team so well lol. So come holla at me when your team wins a playoff game in the next twenty years.

P.S. just to say something about the article....... Cadillac is better than marion barber lol!!!!!

[Yoshi]

Oh and by the way your team WAS 100% healthy when you lost where as our team was plagued by injury............im just saying lol.

[shane]

thank you yoshi it seems like i'm not the only one who thinks that romo aka Mr. Choke and "D" block are, hold on lets get the crowd fired up, OVERRATED (CLAP CLAP CLAP) OVERRATED (CLAP CLAP CLAP). Let see how well your team does without Owens, Witten, Demarcus Ware, or one of your good offensive linemen, especially on your QB's blindside