Bucs TE Winslow confident he will catch up

News Channel 8 photo by BOB HANSEN

Winslow said there was no misunderstanding over his absence from the team's first two rounds of voluntary workouts.

By ROY CUMMINGS | The Tampa Tribune
Published: May 26, 2009
Updated: May 27, 2009 - 12:01 AM

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TAMPA --

Kellen Winslow is back - to stay.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' tight end, who missed his new team's first five "voluntary'' workouts, was back on the field Tuesday, and he says his plan is to be here through the remainder of the Bucs' offseason program.'

"They're very important,'' Winslow said of offseason workouts. "They are voluntary, but they're really not voluntary. You do need to be here, and I wish I could have been here. I just couldn't.''

Winslow didn't elaborate but said he had some personal and family matters to attend to and that head coach Raheem Morris and general manger Mark Dominik excused him from the workouts he missed.

"I just had some family issues I needed to deal with, some personal issues,'' he said. "The team understood. I talked to Coach Morris and the GM, so I had an excuse. I thanked them for that. I just had some stuff to deal with.''