Projected Bucs starting LB Angelo Crowell sat out 2008 after a rare knee surgery and has had a setback in his recovery

Yes, the Bucs took a smart, no-risk shot in their signing of former Bills linebacker Angelo Crowell. The guy had a great year once and is still young, just 27.

But Joe has been telling you since Crowell was signed that he is seriously damaged goods, coming off a very rare knee surgery that caused him to miss all of 2008 and may never have been performed on a professional football player who returned successfully to the field. Plus Crowell has missed games with a torn tricep and broken leg.

Nothing more than hope for his health is what the Bucs have been banking on.

Today, Roy Cummings, of The Tampa Tribune, chilled some of that hope by reporting Crowell has had a setback in his recovery and the Bucs are looking harder at Geno Hayes and Quincy Black in starting roles.

Cummings started his story with the following sentence that brought a slight smirk to Joe’s face:

The situation at linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is nowhere near as settled as it once seemed.

Joe was never one to think the Bucs linebacking corps seemed settled with a 30-year-old safety and a guy with a mysterious knee injury as projected starters, plus a bunch of unknown commodities backing them up.

That said, Cummings is absolutely correct. Crowell’s setback further unsettles the Bucs situation in a big way.