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Bucs Sign 4th-Rounder Moore, Make More Cuts

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By ROY CUMMINGS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 21, 2008

Updated: 06/21/2008 12:12 am

TAMPA - The purge of players continued at One Buc Place on Friday. It is not likely to end any time soon.

Every time the Bucs sign one of their draft picks (which they also did Friday, inking fourth-rounder Dre' Moore to a four-year contract) they have to make room for him on the roster. That means cutting someone else.

Throw in the fact the Bucs have about 10 more players than the league will allow them to have when training camp starts and you can see why these are difficult, if not tense, times at One Buc Place.

At a time when the players are finally getting a chance to rest, the coaching staff and personnel directors remain hard at work, evaluating player performances from the offseason and shaping their camp roster.

"We've got some tough calls to make," said Bucs coach Jon Gruden, who doesn't hide his dislike for a new league rule that limits the number of players a team can take to training camp to 80.

In years past, exemptions for players who participated in NFL Europe, which no longer exists, allowed teams to take nearly 90 players to training camp. The Bucs usually took full advantage of that rule.

"I don't know why we have to have just 80 guys; I don't know why it can't be 180," Gruden said. "It's concerning, because it limits the amount of guys who can practice."

Of chief concern to Gruden is the number of quarterbacks who can practice for him. He had hoped to work five at training camp, but the roster limit could force him to work just four.

That means the Bucs might have to cut a quarterback before camp begins. Many believe the odd man out will be Chris Simms, who wants out anyway, but Simms has remained a Buccaneer through the first wave of cuts.

The same could not be said for defensive ends Patrick Chukwurah and Marquies Gunn. They were let go along with tight end Keith Heinrich, linebacker Leon Joe, wide receivers Amarri Jackson and Charlie Spiller and fullback Carl Stewart.

With Moore being signed, the Bucs now have 87 players on their roster, according to Gruden's count. With five draft picks still be to signed, a dozen more might have to be moved off the active roster between now and the start of camp.

One player who could be moved is running back Cadillac Williams. Though his bid to return from patellar tendon surgery appears to be ahead of schedule, Williams will likely start training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list.

There is even an outside chance Simms or left tackle Luke Petitgout, who is still rehabilitating after last year's season-ending knee surgery, will be placed on that list.

That would allow the Bucs to carry a couple of more players on their training camp roster, and it would reduce the need to cut so many now. As for those who survive the purge, Gruden has a special message.

"They have to be smart," Gruden said. "I want them to enjoy the down time, because they've really invested a lot. They've put a lot into this, but they don't want to blow it now, because we need them to come to training camp and showcase their best stuff, because that's what we're going to need to win."

Reporter Roy Cummings can be reached at (813) 259-7979 or rcummings@tampatrib.com.

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