Cowboys don't match Bucs' offer to OT Tucker
Restricted free agent offensive tackle Torrin Tucker, whose resume includes 24 regular-season starts, late Thursday relocated to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the Dallas Cowboys declined to match the restricted free agent offer sheet he had signed last week.
Tucker became extraneous after the Cowboys signed veteran right tackle Jason Fabini and determined that left tackle Flozell Adams was recovered from the knee injury that sidelined him for much of last season. Second-year veteran Rob Petitti, who started all 16 games in 2005 as a rookie, probably will become the Cowboys' No. 3 tackle.
Last week, Tucker signed a two-year, $2.6 million offer sheet with the Bucs, which the Cowboys had the ability to match. They took all seven days available before declining. Because Tucker entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of college in 2003, Dallas will not receive any compensation for allowing him to move on.
The two-year offer sheet will pay Tucker a $100,000 signing bonus and a base salary of $1.2 million for 2006. In 2007, he will receive a $200,000 roster bonus and $1.1 million base salary.
Tucker, 26, is an improving player whose best football is probably in front of him, and the Bucs might be getting him at the point of his career where he is really ready to blossom. The former Southern Mississippi star has appeared in 36 games.
The acquisition of Tucker finally provides the Bucs the help at tackle they had been seeking for much of the offseason. In the first month of free agency, the Bucs met with veteran blockers Brad Hopkins, Fabini and Tom Ashworth, but didn't sign any of them. Two weeks ago, Tampa Bay re-signed unrestricted free agent Kenyatta Walker, the Bucs' first-round choice in the 2001 draft.
Walker is expected to enter training camp as the starting right tackle. Tucker has played right tackle in the past and started 13 games there in 2004. But he was forced to move to the left side, and started 10 games at that position in 2005, after Adams suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Two-year veteran Anthony Davis started all 16 games at left tackle for the Bucs in 2005, but he may have to hold off Tucker to retain his job. Some scouts feel right tackle is Tucker's best position, but he proved to be more than adequate while playing on the left side in 2005. Tampa Bay coaches may also try Tucker at guard, a position at which he had little exposure with the Cowboys.
Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.
Tucker became extraneous after the Cowboys signed veteran right tackle Jason Fabini and determined that left tackle Flozell Adams was recovered from the knee injury that sidelined him for much of last season. Second-year veteran Rob Petitti, who started all 16 games in 2005 as a rookie, probably will become the Cowboys' No. 3 tackle.
Last week, Tucker signed a two-year, $2.6 million offer sheet with the Bucs, which the Cowboys had the ability to match. They took all seven days available before declining. Because Tucker entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of college in 2003, Dallas will not receive any compensation for allowing him to move on.
The two-year offer sheet will pay Tucker a $100,000 signing bonus and a base salary of $1.2 million for 2006. In 2007, he will receive a $200,000 roster bonus and $1.1 million base salary.
Tucker, 26, is an improving player whose best football is probably in front of him, and the Bucs might be getting him at the point of his career where he is really ready to blossom. The former Southern Mississippi star has appeared in 36 games.
The acquisition of Tucker finally provides the Bucs the help at tackle they had been seeking for much of the offseason. In the first month of free agency, the Bucs met with veteran blockers Brad Hopkins, Fabini and Tom Ashworth, but didn't sign any of them. Two weeks ago, Tampa Bay re-signed unrestricted free agent Kenyatta Walker, the Bucs' first-round choice in the 2001 draft.
Walker is expected to enter training camp as the starting right tackle. Tucker has played right tackle in the past and started 13 games there in 2004. But he was forced to move to the left side, and started 10 games at that position in 2005, after Adams suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Two-year veteran Anthony Davis started all 16 games at left tackle for the Bucs in 2005, but he may have to hold off Tucker to retain his job. Some scouts feel right tackle is Tucker's best position, but he proved to be more than adequate while playing on the left side in 2005. Tampa Bay coaches may also try Tucker at guard, a position at which he had little exposure with the Cowboys.
Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.
posted by The Gryphon at 3:32 PM
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