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Bucs far from the only team treading lightly in free agency

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By ROY CUMMINGS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 10, 2010

Updated: 03/10/2010 01:35 pm

TAMPA - Almost a week into the free agency signing period, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have yet to sign a free agent from another team. If Bucs fans are frustrated by that, they're probably not alone.

Of the 32 teams in the league, 13 have yet to sign a free agent from another team, and some of the clubs who have decided so far to sit out free agency may be surprising.

Dallas and Oakland, typically major players in the free agent market, have not signed a single player from another team. Washington, another team usually active during this period, made its first signing when it added former Carolina defensive tackle Maake Kemoeatu on Wednesday.

The other teams that have yet to dip into the free agency pool are Arizona, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Green Bay, Houston, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Seattle, Tennessee and the New York Jets.

Nearly as many teams – 11 – have signed just one free agent from another team, but in a lot of those cases, the players changing teams are not the kind expected to make a huge impact.

Buffalo's only signing, for example, has been that of one-time Bucs tackle and 11-year veteran Cornell Green. And San Francisco's only signing has been that of backup quarterback David Carr.

The Bengals are shopping for a receiver; they interviewed former Buc Antonio Bryant, 29, on Tuesday and also brought in Terrell Owens, 36, for a visit.

The most active teams so far in free agency have been Denver, Detroit and Pittsburgh. Each of those clubs has signed four players. Chicago signed three players, defensive end Julius Peppers, running back Chester Taylor and tight end Brandon Manumaleuna.

The lack of activity is no doubt a testament to the lack of elite-level talent in this year's pool. Outside of a few players, team executives around the league rated this one of the worst talent pools of the free agent era.

The looming threat of a lockout in 2011 and the change that made free agents unrestricted after six years, instead of four, also had an impact. As Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid noted last week, the "young" players in this year's class are 28 years old. Few teams want to commit long-term deals to players that close to 30.

The Bucs have not been completely idle. They did trade a sixth-round draft pick in 2011 to the Eagles for wide receiver Reggie Brown, 29. On the activity scale, that puts them ahead of several teams.

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