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Bucs' White May Seek Trade

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By ANWAR RICHARDSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 23, 2008

TAMPA Tampa Bay standout defensive end Greg White might ask for a trade today if the Bucs do not offer him another contract.

White is an exclusive-rights free agent, meaning Tampa Bay is the only team that can negotiate with him. The Bucs offered White a contract of $370,000 in February, a slight improvement on the $285,000 base salary he earned last season.

However, White is seeking either a long-term deal or an incentive-laden short-term contract, before this weekend's draft. If it is not offered, he will ask for a trade.

"It's definitely something I would aggressively pursue," said Jack Bechta, White's agent.

Bechta said Tampa Bay had not proposed a new contract, but was optimistic it would come before the draft, emphasizing that White enjoyed being in Tampa Bay and playing for Bucs coach Jon Gruden. Bechta would not say how much compensation White is seeking.

Tampa Bay officials declined to comment, while White elected not to talk when reached on his cell phone.

White had 45 tackles, 8.0 sacks, seven forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries last season, arguably the best performance by a Bucs defensive lineman. He accomplished that after playing for the Orlando Predators in the Arena Football League and entering the NFL without any substantial offseason rest.

The apprehension from White's camp stems from Tampa Bay's offseason moves.

Tampa Bay signed San Francisco left defensive end Marques Douglas to a four-year deal, added Kansas City's Jimmy Wilkerson and re-signed left defensive end Kevin Carter. All are paid significantly more than White.

In addition, the Bucs are moving White from right end to left end, a position the 28-year-old has never played. If White does not perform well on the left side, he loses any leverage to renegotiate a contract after the 2008 season.

However, White has more trade value for teams seeking to add a defensive end before Saturday's draft. If Tampa Bay waits until after the draft to trade White, most teams would have filled their voids, decreasing the chances of dealing him.

If White was treated like Bucs rookie Gaines Adams, he would be happy.

Adams was paid more than $15 million last season and had 49 tackles, six sacks and two forced fumbles, while White earned less than 2 percent of Adams' salary for nearly identical numbers.

However, White's negotiation options are limited.

Since he cannot negotiate with another team, his only hope is that Tampa Bay pays him or trades him. Tampa Bay is not required to do either, but the team runs the risk of having one of its best defensive lineman unhappy entering this season.

White was not required to show up for Tampa Bay's offseason conditioning programs since he did not have a contract, but he has worked out with the team every day since the season ended.

Reporter Anwar S. Richardson can be reached at (813) 259-8425 or arichardson@tampatrib.com.

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