Offseason notebook: Winslow's rookie move
At some point, you have to revisit the maturity issues. Even with Kellen Winslow Jr. still lying in a hospital bed.
A little more than one year ago, when Winslow was headed for the NFL draft, the prevailing concern among some NFL teams was his head. Did he have a "me" attitude? Was he too childish? Was he a maturity risk? Almost 13 months later, on the heels of Winslow's recent motorcycle crash, the same questions are destined to be rehashed. Not because there's a lack of sympathy for someone who is on the mend – but because Winslow's accident seems baffling for someone who missed the majority of his rookie season with a broken leg.
"Don't put the blame on anybody but that kid," said one agent, who asked that his identity not be revealed. "This [stuff] about whether he was told not to engage in that kind of thing [by his agents, Kevin and Carl Poston] is crap. [Use] common sense for God's sake. If you are rehabbing a serious injury – and I'm assuming he was – you don't choose that moment to get on a motorcycle for the first time, and then start doing tricks and showing off.
"It's not a matter of Oh, he's young and wild and going to make mistakes.' It's stupid judgment. Any player who gets onto a motorcycle is stupid. They are putting themselves into jeopardy. Save it for when your career is over. [An agent] shouldn't have to tell anyone that."
Certainly, it's hard to argue that Winslow was using his head – particularly if he was a novice rider popping "wheelies" as reported by the Akron Beacon Journal. What exacerbates the whole situation is that the Cleveland Browns tight end had missed 14 games last season after suffering a broken leg on special teams.
Teams feared Winslow could be difficult after dissecting some of his college and pre-draft decisions, namely his highly publicized postgame blowup while playing for the University of Miami or his incorporation of an interview fee while choosing his representation. Those fears were punctuated after the draft, when Winslow's agents and the Browns went through a contentious contract negotiation.
After suffering four consecutive failures on highly touted picks – quarterback Tim Couch, defensive end Courtney Brown, defensive tackle Gerard Warren and running back William Green – the Browns have been put into another nightmare situation with a first-round draft choice. Thus far, they have put a stranglehold on information regarding the extent of Winslow's injuries, which were incurred when he hit a curb and was ejected from his motorcycle while riding in a parking lot. But the fact that he remains hospitalized several days after the incident have led to speculation that Winslow has suffered serious knee damage and may miss the 2005 season.
"The concern remains with his right knee, which will continue to be re-evaluated," the team said in a statement, adding that "the club will not comment on any aspects of his contract."
The contract issue is a compelling sliver in the whole issue because Winslow may have breached a clause in his contract that prohibits the engagement of dangerous off-field activities. One front-office man said Thursday that such clauses are "pretty standard components" of big-money contracts and that Winslow "definitely" would have broken the clause as defined by most contracts he had negotiated.
If he's in breach, Winslow might have to return a $4.4 million portion of his signing bonus he received in March – putting Cleveland in the awkward spot of possibly taking money back from a player that could still factor into the franchise's future. Still, it remains to be seen if Winslow even had a "high risk" clause in his contract or if his knee is injured seriously enough to keep him from playing next season.
Both should be revealed in the coming days, most likely while Winslow still is sitting in a hospital bed and having his maturity questioned all over again.
WIND SPRINTS
Expect the Drew Rosenhaus no-show minicamp tour to pick up another participant next month, in the form of New Orleans Saints cornerback Mike McKenzie. Rosenhaus already has several prominent players mulling possible training camp holdouts, including wide receivers Javon Walker and Terrell Owens and safety Sean Taylor. And if the Saints can't work out a contract extension for McKenzie by the time they hold their minicamp June 10-12, a league source said the team is preparing for McKenzie to hold out. McKenzie has been unhappy with his contract since last season's impasse with the Green Bay Packers – which prompted his trade to the Saints after a prolonged holdout. Now he appears prepared to sit out once again until he gets a lucrative contract extension.
We understand trying to avoid turmoil, but the Washington Redskins' contract extension with wide receiver Santana Moss was a little surprising. Not that the deal got done – but that the Redskins awarded Moss almost $11 million in guaranteed bonus money. While the overall deal stands at six years and $31 million, that's a generous amount of guaranteed up-front money. Especially for a 5-foot-10 wideout who has only one 1,000-yard season in four years and has yet to emerge as the consistent, game-breaking threat most thought he would be after coming out of the University of Miami.
The Green Bay Packers should be cringing at the figures, considering Moss and wide receiver Javon Walker both share the same agent – Rosenhaus. Walker is holding out, and considering his size and overall skill (and that most teams easily would choose him over Moss), Rosenhaus is likely to command an even fatter deal from the Packers.
Despite the current ugliness, the standoff between Terrell Owens and the Philadelphia Eagles isn't even close to the boiling point. If fans think this is bad, just wait until Philadelphia attempts to recoup some of Owens' $9.6 million signing bonus for skipping minicamp. Thus far, the Eagles have been careful not to accentuate that as an option. But they won't be afraid to go down that avenue if the contract stalemate extends into training camp. The prevailing feeling around the league is that if Owens skips training camp and the team moves to recoup some of that bonus, Owens and the Eagles will be finished. And trade suitors quickly will line up.
It looks like the Tennessee Titans are Eddie George's last option. While George's camp has sent out feelers to other teams and acknowledged that he would be willing to serve as a backup tailback in 2005, there doesn't seem to be a great amount of interest around the league. Unless George can work out some scenario where he finishes his career as a limited role player in Tennessee, he may be forced to retire this offseason.
Ty Law's situation should get interesting later this month or in early June. Though his possible return to the New England Patriots looks dead, there are several teams anxiously awaiting workouts with him as early as the end of May or the beginning of June. Currently, Law is working with a trainer in Miami to rehabilitate his broken left foot, which had a screw removed last month.
Law has taken the patient approach, and he should have a chance at a healthy free-agent deal if he can perform well for teams in upcoming workouts. Among those that are still interested in his services are the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs, but there are believed to be as many as a half-dozen teams that would be interested in signing him to a long-term deal depending on how far along he looks in the coming weeks.
While there's still no concrete evidence of what Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi's health will allow him to do next season, his relationship with the New England media may be beyond repair. One of the team's most beloved interviews, Bruschi remains "infuriated" over how his stroke became a feeding frenzy for reporters in the Boston area, a Patriots teammate said last week. During and after Bruschi's hospitalization, television and print reporters staked out his home and approached several family members. When he was released from the hospital, one station ran a live helicopter feed of his return home.
"He's pissed," the player said. "He should be. It was ridiculous. They were following him everywhere, going after his family at all hours. I don't think he'll ever forget that [stuff]."
