Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Pewter Report :: Flynn's Focus
Will Tampa Bay LB Jamie Winborn remain a Buc or will he exercise an option in his contract that would allow him to test free agency? Winborn recently told PewterReport.com that he plans to opt out of his contract with Tampa Bay if he doesn’t receive a long-term contract and commitment from the Buccaneers.
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Will he stay or will he go?
That’s a question Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Jamie Winborn has been asking himself quite often this offseason, and he’ll soon have an answer.
Winborn signed a five-year deal with the Buccaneers as a free agent during the 2006 offseason. However, his deal, which included a $200,000 signing bonus, has an option in it that would allow the former Vanderbilt star to buy himself out of the rest of the deal and become an unrestricted free agent on March 2. This contract caveat was first reported in an SR's Fab Five Pewter Insider article last month.
“Right now I’m just waiting to see if Tampa Bay wants to do a longer term deal as opposed to me buying out of the deal and exploring the market,” Winborn told PewterReport.com. “I really like Tampa and that’s pretty much where I’d like to be. I’m just trying to give it a little more time to see what happens.”
If he does decide to buy himself out of his contract, Winborn would have to repay the $200,000 signing bonus he received in 2006 and would not earn the $200,000 roster bonus he’s scheduled to receive in March.
Although free agency doesn’t officially start until March 2, the language written into Winborn’s contract states that he must buy himself out of his contract with the Bucs 10 days before the start of the first day of the new league year.
Winborn wants a new contract that would show more of a long-term commitment on Tampa Bay’s part.
“When I came here I was expecting something different than what I’ve gotten,” said Winborn. “But I don’t have a problem with that. I’m just looking for some type of long-term commitment. They know what I’m capable of doing and they know what they have. Hopefully they like what they’ve seen and want to make a move on it.”
But the Bucs don’t appear to be in much of a hurry to make a move.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Pewter Report :: Flynn's Focus
Will Tampa Bay LB Jamie Winborn remain a Buc?
Will Tampa Bay LB Jamie Winborn remain a Buc?
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