Huggins Among RBs Working Out Yesterday
October 26th, 2011
The man Raheem Morris once dubbed “the driving force of our football team,” running back Kareem Huggins, must be feeling healthy after his 2010 knee injury, as Huggins worked out yesterday for the Washington Redskins, so reports Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.
The Bucs also looked at backs Tuesday, Florio notes, with Jon Hoese and Eddie Williams getting eyeballed at One Buc Palace.
But those guys are fullback prospects, per Joe’s research, so it seems the Bucs are content with the running backs now on the payroll.
UPDATE: Bucs 2011 draft pick fullback Allen Bradford, who was cut by both the Bucs and Seahawks in recent weeks, stated on his Twitter feed yesterday the Bucs have been in contact with him but he did not provide further details.
October 26th, 2011 at 10:32 am
Good to hear he’s gotten healthy. Hate to see a player with some talent like that not get a chance because of injury.
October 26th, 2011 at 10:36 am
Dominik didn’t even bring in any running backs? Damn. If there ever was a time to sign a RB it would be now. So if Legarrette isn’t ready we’re going with Lumpkin and Madu? That’s a scary thought. Hopefully Dominik will bring in running backs throughout the week or has been bringing them in privately. He has to.
October 26th, 2011 at 10:40 am
I say give the man a shot but probably won’t happen. Did spann get signed to the active roster or just the practice squad. I say we bring him and madu up if blount is still banged up
October 26th, 2011 at 11:02 am
“the Bucs are content with the running backs now on the payroll.”
Why?
October 26th, 2011 at 11:03 am
Bad planning by the organization. No running back and no fullback. We probably have the worst running back situation in the whole league. Seriously. Just look at our division, the saints and panthers are loaded with quality backs. Atlanta has a stud, and we have Blount, who still is a little unproven and cant play all downs. We need some explosive help for Freeman, and the bucs Effed him over this offseason. You wanna know why Freeman has regressed, they sat on their hands this offseason. That is why. I dont want to hear anymore excuses. Go out and get some decent running backs losers.
October 26th, 2011 at 11:07 am
THE Jon Hoese?
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 26th, 2011 at 11:10 am
Didnt we have a decent real fullback last year? I cant remember his name, but he looked like a legitimate fullback. Is it really that hard to find a fullback. Jimminy Christmas.
October 26th, 2011 at 11:27 am
*Shaking my head*
October 26th, 2011 at 11:42 am
Wow,
Why didn’t we go get Jonathan Joseph, cut Talib. Let Trueblood go and paid Doug Free.
Then sign Sproles.
That is what we should have done with the salary cap.
Way to go Bucs. Move to London lol.
October 26th, 2011 at 11:43 am
And we could’ve gotten Nick Barnett to play MLB until Foster is ready.
Thanks Glazers, you are some lame duck owners you know that?
October 26th, 2011 at 11:44 am
Stay the course!! No sense in spending any money now that our season hangs on the brink. Thanks Dom your cheap approach in the offseason is coming back to bite us now.
October 26th, 2011 at 11:46 am
@SteveK – lmfao…
October 26th, 2011 at 11:49 am
By not addressing Free Agent needs this offseason, Bucs ownership has stunted Freeman’s growth.
We need talent around him more than ever, to help ease the growing pains of his development.
October 26th, 2011 at 11:49 am
By not addressing Free Agent needs this offseason, Bucs ownership has stunted Freeman’s growth.
We need talent around him more than ever, to help ease the growing pains of his development.
October 26th, 2011 at 11:57 am
Team management and the coaching staff are a joke. Hope they take a beating the rest of the season showing how smart they really are. Idiots!!!
October 26th, 2011 at 11:58 am
I’m not missing Gruden, it was time for him to leave and this staff has done a decent job so far and has provided us with a bright future. Having said that, Dominik should get just as much crap for loving Buc players as Gruden gets for loving every player. Obviously Steve’s comments are unrealistic but HOLY CRAP DOM CAN YOU PLEASE GET OFF YOUR A$$ AND SIGN A RUNNING BACK. THERE ARE 30 SOMETHINGS OUT THERE THAT CAN GET THE JOB DONE JUST FOR THIS YEAR IF THAT’S WHAT IT TAKES. THEY DON’T HAVE TO TAINT YOUR YOUTH MOVEMENT JUST KEEP HIM UNTIL APRIL. Sign him now so he can get the playbook over the bye week. If our backfield vs. the Saints is Lumpkin, Madu, and Spann we will lose the game.
October 26th, 2011 at 11:59 am
Freeman’s issue is not that there isn’t enough talent around him as he has been having these issues since pre-season, it is lack of an offseason. The lack of talent we are witnessing is actually a lack of depth and some critical positions.
October 26th, 2011 at 11:59 am
For a team that needs to establish a running game to be successful I find myself baffled at the lack of attention given to the position. Yes we have Blount, but that was only because Ward didn’t work out. Blount wasn’t even on Dominik’s radar until then. I am a fan of given unproven talent a chance, but wouldn’t it make since to get some proven talent first and then start picking players off of other peoples pratice squad. The RB position is too important to this team to just be promoting practice squad players, when is the last time we drafted a good running back? I keep hearing we are a run first team, but yet we don’t go after superior RB talent, we go out and find average to low talent and try to make them into something they are not. Blount was the exception. Then we we have someone like Huggins who was praised highly by the team and could have possibly been a good change of pace back, we hold him back for whatever reason until he get’s hurt or leaves, and then we start the process all over again like we are doing with Madu. I understand why this team is has slow starts and are so complacent, they get it from the owners and the front office. The owners/front office do just enough to get by and so does the team on gameday.
October 26th, 2011 at 11:59 am
SteveK the main reason we signed Trueblood was to sign Davin Joeseph. Davin already stated he would only come back if we kept Trueblood around. So we Signed Davin to 6 years and Trueblood for only 2 Ie also means he more then likely wont be on the roster next year.
We didn’t sign Sproles because at the time we still had Caddy on the Roster. Plus Sproles WANTED to go to the Saints in the first place.
And we TRIED for Doug Free but HE chose to go back to the cowboys.
I am not defending the GM for not making at least a few smart moves, but it wasn’t like we were dead in the water either. Just the prospects we looked at ended up else where.
October 26th, 2011 at 12:00 pm
CHAD SPANN
October 26th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
I meant to say “Sense” not “Since”…lol
October 26th, 2011 at 12:08 pm
I agree with your take on it Steve K……941-Bucs, according to reports Sproles and Free signed with their teams because they were offered more money then what we offered.
As far as Davin….I like him and think that he is a really solid player, but if we signed Trueblood only because of Davins comments/stance, that reflects very poorly on management to allow any player to hold them hostage so to speak….I hope thats not the case.
October 26th, 2011 at 12:08 pm
I’m all for giving Spann a chance, especially considering Dominik isn’t (publicly, at least) looking at free agents. I’d rather see him than Madu. Both of those guys, however, were on the PS. There are reasons that no team wanted them. The scariest part about that is they both might be better than Lumpkin.
October 26th, 2011 at 12:11 pm
@941, thanks for the info
But C’mon man! You only live once.
Put me in the Glazers shoes, and I would be willing to spend to make Tampa a winner.
I know the economy is down, but the Glazers have enough money to last a life time, and then some.
It should be a responsiblity as an owner to fork out the dough to win at certain times, and with the lockout this past offseason it was the time to spend.
They are clearly not interested in winning. I wouldn’t be surprised if they keep spoon feeding us the “youth movement” junk, and whind up selling the team.
October 26th, 2011 at 12:11 pm
Out of all FA’s tho. i would think if the Bucs really needed some help. Takeing a second peek at Huggins.
October 26th, 2011 at 12:15 pm
I love to read the expert opinions of a bunch of whiny babies.
October 26th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
Well Chad Spann was on the Colts active roster but got an injury. So we may have something there.
October 26th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
Whiny Babies? I just want to win. 2002 was awesome, and we need more of that.
With Freeman at the helm, we can get there again, but we need some other cornerstone FA’s.
No whiny, just being factual..
October 26th, 2011 at 12:25 pm
“I love to read the expert opinions of a bunch of whiny babies.”
I love to read the expert opinion of an immature name caller who brings absolutely nothing to the conversation. Thanks.
Out of all the free agent backs out there, Willie Parker(30) is the most appealing. He could be valuable after LGB returns to 100% by bringing some speed to the backfield. If not Parker, Clinton Portis (also 30) still might have a little left in the tank.
October 26th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
Tiki time
October 26th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
Huggie Bear!!!!! I just wanted to say it 🙂
October 26th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
KD, it doesn’t take an expert to read whining. I don’t so much disagree with your comments, but reading “They are clearly not interested in winning.” and “Team management and the coaching staff are a joke. Hope they take a beating the rest of the season showing how smart they really are. Idiots!!!” and “Thanks Dom your cheap approach in the offseason is coming back to bite us now.”
October 26th, 2011 at 12:40 pm
Expertise of the finest.
October 26th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
It’s obvious the Bucs aren’t in a win-now-no-matter-what state of mind, otherwise they’d be looking at the best RB’s that are available on the market. They’re sticking to “The Plan”. I’m a supporter of “The Plan” but at some point you have to ask yourself if such a religiously narrow focus is hurting your team’s prospects of winning this season.
The only players worth a damn in our backfield now are a fullback (Lorig) and a banged up running back (Blount). That’s it. If you don’t consider the cupboard to be bare under those conditions then I don’t know how you define it. Is Madu really the answer?
October 26th, 2011 at 12:45 pm
I say the Buccs should looks at Huggins again.
October 26th, 2011 at 12:46 pm
So let me get this straight. Raheem says the team’s goal is to win the division, right? Ok so logically looking at the probability of that happening with Madu, Lumpkin, or Spann are so low because we have a little sample size of their production. All we have an idea about is their attributes, which non of them possess anything special or nothing that classifies them as “weaponry” for Freeman. So just at the surface I would look at what Raheem and Dominik is trying to sale and say not so. Even when fully healthy this offense is decent. In the future maybe but if you are looking at right now, the organization has many issues and it’s gonna continue because of the way they have chosen to rebuild. I expect the black-outs to continue because people aren’t really excited about what they are selling. I’m not trying to be negative but the truth always lie in the median.
The Bucs have a lot of youth and a young head coach so what is going on does not and should just temper our expectations. So that we can enjoy the journey rather than compare them to more prestigious organizations. I think we all get caught up in what they sale us and I know when the Bucs get beat up my blood boils because of my expectations. But if we take what the Bucs say like a grain of salt and just watch and enjoy then in the long run we the fans can slowly believe in the organization again.
I was definitely verbally assaulted Sunday because I stated that the truth is the Bucs are a young 8-8 team. Well now that the smoke clears and the emotion levels out the truth is now we have a injured team with discipline issues and that can’t bode well for a young team. Contenders don’t beat themselves and contenders don’t allow one player to ruin their season. I can’t say the Bucs are taking those steps to follow that path of success. The Pats cut dirt bag Merriweather and the Packers cut Ahmad Carroll. We all know the story of Pacman Jones. So what’s the deal with Talib, who has been a dirt bag for years and now his play for two seasons have regressed. All I am saying is in order for us to truly become a contender we must operate like a contender on and off the field.
That’s my little take. All the homers, you know who you are, feel free to accuse me of being a traitor but the truth is what it is. The numbers (not stats) don’t lie.
October 26th, 2011 at 1:01 pm
Architek: You’re just being a realist which I totally agree with. The true fans are able to adjust their opinions on the fly based on what they see the team doing (or not doing) and what the needs & tendencies are.
As for Talib I don’t see them getting rid of him prior to the offseason. He still has too much value and they can trade him for picks or players after the season. But I definitely see them picking up a CB in the first or second round of next year’s draft as his replacement. His average performance doesn’t warrant continuing to put up with his issues.
October 26th, 2011 at 1:01 pm
Portis is an excellent blocker. He would come in and instantly be the best blocking back on the team. He’s fearless in pass protection while Lumpkin won’t even touch a blitzing linebacker. Lumpkin should NEVER start again when we can get a plug like Portis right now for the league minimum. Do it to it Dom. Parker, Portis, Johnson, please just go get somebody who can play.
October 26th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
Agree about Portis. He’d be the best 3rd down back this team has seen in quite a while. An absolute monster in blocking and a good pass catcher out of the backfield. Lumpkin needs to go and this team needs some new blood in the backfield.
October 26th, 2011 at 1:07 pm
5 wide, hurry-up.
October 26th, 2011 at 1:08 pm
How can a comment be 3 times longer than the story lol
October 26th, 2011 at 1:13 pm
LOL @ all the armchair GM’s…
October 26th, 2011 at 1:22 pm
Personally, I think its possible that Raheem has realized the only way our running game will tkae off is with hard hitting backs.
And that’s why he’s looking at FBs. I would not discount it.
October 26th, 2011 at 1:25 pm
And frankly…our GM should be bringing in Offensive Line guys. Any mid level back can run behind a top rush blocking oline. Broncos proved that for years.
October 26th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
Madu just promoted to team.
October 26th, 2011 at 1:35 pm
Yup.
October 26th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
KD:
Portis is an excellent blocker.
Is that why he can’t find a job?
October 26th, 2011 at 1:44 pm
@admin
Obviously not, but I still think Clinton Portis might have something left. I honestly didn’t see very much of him in his last couple years in Washington, but I saw him in Denver. Great vision, great blocker. Obviously blocking from the running back spot is crucial to the offense, that’s one reason Cadillac played as much as he did last year. He does have almost 10k yards, which is heavy wear and tear, but 30 isn’t way too old. Would definitely be a step or two slower, but ultimately I believe he is better than what we have behind LGB.
This is all irrelevant after the promotion of Madu. Here’s to hoping he’s the next great undrafted running back Dom has provided.
October 26th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
Pete
We tried that zone blocking Denver uses and it didn’t fly here. Need that type of blocker across the whole line and don’t think they will be replacing the entire line.
FLboy
“He’d be the best 3rd down back this team has seen in quite a while.”
No, we had our Portis and his name was Caddy and they let him go! Caddy seems to be doing just fine in that role and with 4.0 yards a carry too! Unfortunately, for him, it’s with St Louis Spams!
October 26th, 2011 at 2:05 pm
KD, Flyboy, you’re right. At one time Portis was the best blitz protector and blocking RB in the league. But Joe’s caveat cannot be ignored. He has been worked out by a number of teams with legitimate RB needs, but everybody has passed. He is even agreeing to pay his own travel expenses to and from workouts. He was a good RB, there is a reason he is being turned down.
October 26th, 2011 at 2:17 pm
@everyone, Portis can’t stay healthy, he is a walking injury report.
October 26th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
@macabee, I have no problem agreeing with that. Haven’t really seen him in his last 2 years in Washington. The question is: while he has lost a step, is he better than the bare cupboard we have behind LGB? Apparently Dominik did not think so.
October 26th, 2011 at 2:42 pm
We also picked up a FB, Matt Clapp. A very quick reasearch reveals that he is 6-2, 246, 4.64-40 – OSU – All big 12, 1st team, was blocking FB for DeMarco Murray. UFA to Detroit in 2010, made team, released with IR settlement, bounced around PSs for Saints, Colts, then back to Detroit where he was released after receiving a 4 game suspension for undisclosed violation. You decide!
October 26th, 2011 at 2:44 pm
WHo is this mystery JIM BROWN RB that is currently unemployed walking the streets we are supposed to be looking at ? ?
October 26th, 2011 at 3:51 pm
@javato
Thank you, if that guy was out there, he would have been signed already.
October 26th, 2011 at 4:42 pm
@macabee
We caught the Clapp.
October 26th, 2011 at 6:04 pm
Madu was lighting it up in preseason for tampa
October 26th, 2011 at 6:57 pm
It amazes me that when people speak the truth, they are discarded as unknowledgeable, remember when most of you guys told us we were stupid, and did not know what we were talking about when we said the bucs should have gone out and got some of the fa on the market and the majority of you said we are awesome and dont need any help. Portis would be a big help right now, but its all about the dollars, if it wasnt why would you not go get some help, Madu, really guys that were probably bagging groceries, or cutting lawns to make a living, this guys are better than portis, or even larry johnson. All i ask is that this organization stop lying to the fan base of this town and when they see empty seats, that they look at themselves in the mirror. Steve K, right on brother but these people will never see it, still drinking the Rheem and Dom Koolaide. Put down the glass and get over the hangover already
October 26th, 2011 at 9:45 pm
It’s amazing commenters imagine these so called jewel RB FA’s are or would’ve been invincible to injury had Dom already signed them to massive contracts b/f the injury bug hit the Bucs; you think they’d just be sitting pretty on the bench waiting to fill in, all the while clogging up roster spots? Of course not. Sure, anyone would want a healthy Clinton Portis or Larry Johnson over an inexperienced Moisis Madu or Kregg Lumpkin at this point – had they the opportunity to learn a playbook in a shortened off-season and been entrenched on the practice field. It’s not as easy after the fact. Hey, let’s sign a couple of injury prone geriatrics to massive one year contracts. In fact, these guys are unsigned by every other NFL squad for reason…they’re simple washed up with no future. I’d prefer the Bucs look for another jewel in the rough.