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Odd (Pitt)man out? Bucs make it seem like RB has worn out his welcomePosted: Friday July 18, 2003 4:42 PMUpdated: Friday July 18, 2003 6:37 PM
Whether he sees jail time in connection with his offseason arrest on felony assault charges or not, running back Michael Pittman's chances of finishing this season with Tampa Bay aren't very good. For that matter, Pittman may be a long shot to even finish the preseason as a Buc. Tampa Bay officials aren't saying that in so many words, but that's the clear impression one got talking with team sources as the NFL's defending champions reported for training camp Friday at Disney World in Florida. Pittman's status with the team has been in question since May 30, when police in suburban Phoenix say the Bucs' leading rusher used his Hummer to ram his wife's Mercedes-Benz, while she, the couple's 2-year-old son and the family's babysitter sat in the car. Pittman has a history of domestic violence and is on probation stemming from a 2001 incident involving his wife. The Bucs in June acquired veteran running backs Thomas Jones and Terry Kirby as fallback plans should Pittman be convicted of the charges and face a league suspension. Many already assume Tampa Bay will cut its ties to Pittman at some point -- so why haven't they done so yet? Because the team has been wary of eliciting a grievance from the NFL Players Association, which in the past has not been timid about challenging teams that cut or suspend players for misconduct before the legal process has run its course. Three Philadelphia Eagles reportedly reached settlements with the team in 2001, for example, after the NFLPA filed a grievance on their behalf when they were suspended or released. But by allowing Pittman to attend training camp and then cutting him in the preseason, the Bucs can attribute his release to performance and feel they're on fairly safe legal ground regarding a possible union grievance. Even if they'd be whacking the player who many thought deserved the Super Bowl MVP honor for his season-high 124-yard rushing performance in Tampa Bay's blowout win against Oakland. Asked if Jones had to prove he was up to filling the starting running back role this preseason before the Bucs would consider releasing Pittman, one team source demurred, saying Tampa Bay head coach Jon Gruden would simply "go with a running back by committee" approach if Jones doesn't win the No. 1 job outright. I don't know about you, but I read that as Pittman being gone either way, with only the Bucs' timetable for the move still in question. In an interview this week with the St. Petersburg Times, Gruden acknowledged the club's fear of prompting a union grievance played heavily into the Bucs' thinking with Pittman. "You have to do it," said Gruden, of the decision to allow Pittman to remain on the team while his case goes through the courts. "There are proven cases where these are major grievances. ... There are some things that we have to do legally, and I think from an etiquette standpoint we are concerned about [Pittman]. We're very concerned about him and his status on our team, and that is a fact." Though Gruden could always change his mind and lobby the Bucs' front office to keep Pittman until his legal status is decided, the backfield combination of Jones, Kirby, Aaron Stecker, Travis Stephens and fullback Mike Alstott seemingly gives him enough options in replacing Pittman's team-best 718 yards rushing and backfield-leading 477 yards receiving from 2002. And the Bucs could always make another move if they still don't like their choices. Part of Tampa Bay's wish to avoid the grievance process centers on the salary-cap ramifications that result when a terminated player has a grievance filed on his behalf. Half of the player's salary must be counted under the team's cap until the grievance has been heard. In Pittman's case, that would mean the Bucs would have to make room for $400,000 of his scheduled $800,000 base salary -- in effect tying up an additional roster spot under the cap. Pittman's attorneys are seeking to have his trial delayed until after the NFL season. So far, all they've accomplished is having his pretrial conference in Arizona delayed until Sept. 3, which is the Wednesday before the NFL's regular-season kickoff weekend. Pittman does not have to attend that conference, a move designed to allow him to remain with the team. The bigger question is, will the Bucs themselves render that consideration moot long before that date arrives?
Around the league ...
Namely, how much egg should Houston general manager Charley Casserly have on his face regarding Boselli's failure to ever take the field for the Texans? Casserly is one of the league's more respected personnel men, and he has more than his share of high points in an NFL executive career that's extended beyond two decades. But the Boselli acquisition doesn't rate as his finest hour. In what was in effect his second major organizational decision -- after hiring head coach Dom Capers -- Casserly opted to make Boselli the franchise's first choice in the February 2002 expansion draft, even though the Jacksonville left tackle's left shoulder problems were known by all and presented something of a risky proposition. Boselli, once the NFL's consensus best tackle, had the shoulder operated on while in Jacksonville, and it required two more surgeries while he was with the Texans. It is now arthritic and won't allow him to play football. Hindsight is 20-20, of course, but the sad reality for Casserly is that Boselli never suited up for Houston, and wound up counting $7.55 million against the Texans' salary cap last year, with separate cap charges of $3.05 million still on the books for this year and next. Choosing Boselli was hardly an example of the Texans going brain dead. No pun intended, but he was head and shoulders above everyone else available in the expansion draft as far as name recognition and pedigree. And at the time, the odds appeared to be good that one of the game's most competitive players would fight his way back onto the field and pay some dividends by cementing Houston's offensive line for the foreseeable future. The future, however, isn't always foreseeable. And because of it, Casserly wound up costing his owner millions, used up a valuable roster spot that amounted to nothing and was forced to watch as a high-profile whiff on the personnel front played itself out in slow motion over the course of a year and a half. I was on hand in Houston last July when the Texans reported for their first training camp, and I remember asking team owner Bob McNair how concerned he was about Boselli's shoulder problems. "If Tony was not there, would it set us back?" McNair said. "No doubt about it. But it's not the end of the world. ... But does it hurt? You bet it hurts." Already at that point in mid-July, Casserly's selection of Boselli was being second-guessed, even while Houston was crossing its fingers that the ex-Jag would be able to play the season's final three months. In the end, the combination of too much optimism and erroneous medical opinion was costly for the Texans. "I don't think you ask that question until it's all said and done," Texans offensive coordinator Chris Palmer said then of the burgeoning second-guessing. "What happens if Tony comes back and plays 14 games? Then everybody says, 'Hey, that's a great move.' If there are problems that exist and he doesn't play at all, then you have a chance to second-guess it."
I asked one NFL general manager this week about Smith's track record of off-field legal troubles, and he said his team categorized Smith as "a time bomb" in its pre-draft reports. It was Smith's character issues that no doubt contributed to him lasting until the draft's second day. "He's no Michael Bennett, either," said the GM. "He'll be a good back, but he's nothing special. He's not an upgrade for them." The Vikings, however, say Smith is a more physically talented runner than Bennett, albeit without Bennett's top-notch speed. Bennett recently suffered a setback in his recovery from offseason foot surgery and on Thursday underwent further surgery that, if unsuccessful, would shelve him for all of 2003. If Bennett is lost and Smith can't handle the No. 1 duties, look for Doug Chapman to get the bulk of the carries. Vikings head coach Mike Tice said this week that he prefers to keep veteran Moe Williams in the third-down role, where his skills are best suited. Tice also did not rule out one-time 1998 Miami No. 1 pick John Avery making some noise in the preseason competition at running back.
But Miller will not be on the reserve PUP list, which would force him to miss anywhere from the first six-to-nine weeks of the regular season. On the active PUP list, Miller could be activated at any time before the league's Aug. 31 final cutdown day, thus giving the Bucs the chance to evaluate his progress day by day this preseason. Don Banks covers pro football for SI.com. |
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