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White Rewarded With New Contract

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By ANWAR S. RICHARDSON The Tampa Tribune

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 16, 2008

TAMPA - Tampa Bay recently rewarded DE Greg White with a three-year contract worth a little more than $2.5 million.

The Bucs restructured White's contract before their season opener against New Orleans. White, an exclusive rights free agent, was slated to receive $370,000 this season. The Bucs were not obligated to give White, who could not negotiate with any other team, more money than the league minimum. White begrudgingly signed that contract on the first day of training camp.

Now White will receive $370,000 this season and an additional $250,000 roster bonus. His base salary is $825,000 in 2008, while he is slated to receive $1.4 million in 2009.

In addition, White could make from $20,000 to $100,000 per sack in each season. That extra compensation depends largely on the number of sacks he has every year.

"We were pleased the front office thought outside of the box and decided not to treat Greg like the undrafted free agent he was in 2007," said Jack Bechta, White's agent. "This deal would not have happened if not for the efforts of Bucs general manager Bruce Allen and Bucs senior assistant Kevin Demoff.

"Instead of guys in Greg's situation who have a chance to play in the NFL skipping a trip to One Buc Place, this shows everybody they need to go there because they might treat you differently."

White had 45 tackles, eight 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 much of an offseason.

After Tampa Bay temporarily switched White to left end during this preseason, the Bucs moved him back to right end and he has 2.5 sacks in two games.

ROSTER MOVE COMING: Tampa Bay TE Jerramy Stevens is ready to play, but the Bucs have to determine if he is needed.

Stevens missed Tampa Bay's first two games because of a league mandated suspension. He could be added to Tampa Bay's roster today or Wednesday, but Bucs coach Jon Gruden was unsure what would happen.

"There's the potential for Jerramy coming back and we have to create a roster space if that be the case," Gruden said. "We do miss Jerramy. He's a guy that really helps us as a threat, as a receiver particularly. He's shown improvement as a blocker, but to bring him back aboard we have to create a space for him and that will be a tough call for us."

Stevens said he spent the past two weeks working out at the team's facilities. He was not allowed to practice with the team or attend meetings, but he said he is ready to play.

"I feel like I'm comfortable with the offense and it's not going to be a learning curve where after two weeks you lose your feel as far as football goes," Stevens said. "I got a lot of reps in preseason and I think I should be ready to go. Hopefully I'll step right in and show up in practice and give them the confidence to put me in some positions during the game."

INJURY UPDATE: Gruden said he did not have any injury updates on WR Joey Galloway (ankle sprain) or RG Davin Joseph (broken foot).

Galloway left in the second half of Tampa Bay's victory against Atlanta and did not return. He was unavailable to the media Sunday and Monday.

Joseph sustained his injury prior to this season, but Gruden is optimistic he will play again soon.

"He's walking around more," Gruden said. "I'd say his status for this week is questionable to doubtful, but his return appears to be soon. He's got the boot off, he's moving around, doing his rehab, doing what he's supposed to do."

BLOW THE WHISTLE: Tampa Bay is only a few plays away from being atop one bad NFL category.

The Bucs have been penalized 18 times for 160 yards in two games. Tampa Bay barely trails Green Bay, which has been whistled 20 times for 180 yards.

"We were the least penalized team in team preseason and we're the second most penalized team in the regular season," Gruden said. "It's another reason I guess that we should get rid of training camp, because it doesn't matter. We've got to get that right, honestly."

Anwar S. Richardson

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