inmate running the asylum Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Dillon May Be Latest Target Of Bucs By ROY CUMMINGS Published: Jan 21, 2004 MOBILE, Ala. - Like most everyone else taking in the Senior Bowl workouts Tuesday, Bucs General Manager Bruce Allen had his eyes focused squarely on the future. Allen's ears, however, were plugged into the present. Eager to get the Bucs back to where they were this time last year, Allen said he spent much of Tuesday discussing potential trades with rival clubs. I've talked to a few teams [Tuesday] about potential trades,'' Allen said. ``We're always looking to get better.'' Allen would not specify whether his discussions centered on obtaining established NFL players, draft picks or a combination of the two. It is believed, however, that one objective is to secure the resources necessary to cut a deal for disgruntled Bengals running back Corey Dillon. Dillon, who has long expressed displeasure with the Bengals, is expected to have his long-standing wish for a trade granted before this year's draft, and several NFL sources say the Bucs are among the teams who could land him. It may not take much more than a third- or fourth-round draft pick to get a guy like Dillon, but there aren't a lot of teams willing to give that up,'' one NFL team executive said. The Bucs are one that might.'' Citing the fact Dillon remains under contract to the Bengals, neither Allen nor Bucs coach Jon Gruden would comment on the trade speculation. With the Bucs' running back situation in limbo, however, a trade for Dillon might make sense. Though the Bucs seem ready to make Thomas Jones their feature back, they will have to re-sign him before free agency begins or win a bidding battle afterward. Re-establishing Michael Pittman as the feature back is another option, but with Pittman set to stand trial on domestic abuse and probation violation charges, there is no guarantee he'll be available. Given those scenarios, the Bucs may opt to take a run at landing Dillon, who is slated to count $3.3 million against the cap in 2004 and has long been considered one of the NFL's most potent runners. Until last season, when knee problems limited him to 13 games, Dillon never gained less than the 1,129 yards rushing that he racked up his rookie season. Dillon, 29, does carry some baggage. In addition to coming off an injury-plagued season, he has never seemed happy while with the Bengals and announced during the team's playoff push last year that he wanted out. Whether a change in scenery would alter Dillon's attitude is uncertain, but his agent, David Dunn, said Dillon would definitely be happy playing in Tampa Bay. "Who wouldn't want to play for Jon Gruden?'' Dunn said. Though Tampa Bay is a place where Dillon might be happy, either Dallas or Washington is believed to be his most desired destination. As one NFL executive put it, however, the Cowboys and Redskins may not be as willing as the Bucs to give up the draft picks the Bengals will want. ``Dallas and Washington have a lot more work to do to with their teams than Tampa,'' the executive said. ``They might want to hold onto their picks, whereas Tampa may be in a better position to give them up.'' In other trade talk, a report out of Jacksonville on Tuesday said the Bucs may have some interest in trading for Jaguars quarterback David Garrard. A Bucs source said Monday the team may have interest in obtaining veteran Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell. Meanwhile, Gruden said that offensive quality control coach Jeremy Bates and defensive assistant Raheem Morris soon will be given expanded duties and responsibilities. Gruden would not specify what those would be. TSN HONORS: Bucs defensive end Simeon Rice and linebacker Derrick Brooks were selected to The Sporting News 2003 All-Pro Team. Rice tied for second in the league with 15 sacks this season. Brooks led Tampa Bay with 101 tackles. Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning was named player of the year, while New England coach Bill Belichick was named coach of the year. Teams were selected by a panel of 22 NFL pro personnel directors. Staff writer Roy Cummings discusses the Bucs' possible interest in Corey Dillon in a video interview on TBO.com, keyword: Bucs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Die Hard Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Inmate... check your PMs please. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inmate running the asylum Posted January 21, 2004 Author Share Posted January 21, 2004 More from Bengals.com Dallas: No trade talk 1/20/2004 - -19-04, 6:55 p.m. Updated: 1-20-04, 2:10 p.m. BY GEOFF HOBSON MOBILE, Ala. _ Anytime you get 32 NFL teams together, rumors start flying like frontrunners in Iowa. On Monday, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis quashed one here at the Senior Bowl when he said the Bengals don’t have a trade offer for running back Corey Dillon. Not from Dallas. Not from Washington. Not, it seems, from anywhere. Yet. He did indicate a timetable, saying such trades are most likely going to happen before the April 24-25 Draft. Lewis said the current Dillon-to-Dallas bolt is just as baseless as the cybershot back in October, which, in part, ignited Dillon’s ire. “Mike (Brown) didn’t talk to ‘em and I didn’t talk him ‘em, so it’s about like where it was in the fall,” Lewis said. “Chances are things move before the draft. Anytime you have a veteran player, a lot of it is going to occur before, but you never know.” It's clear from those close and not close to Dillon that Dallas is his first choice for a trade. But on Tuesday morning as he watched the North practice, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones didn't rule anything in and out with Dillon. He also said it wasn't on the radar yet. ** Continued from Homepage ** "We haven't sat down and looked at the running game yet. That's something we're going to do this spring," Jones said. "That doesn't mean anything about Dillon one way or the other. That's everybody. I guess you could say we don't have a position on it yet." Lewis is still playing coy about Dillon, a player that left after the season not expecting or wanting to return. Lewis even used one of Dillon’s favorite words to characterize the rumors. Interesting. “I don’t have to worry about that,” said Lewis, when asked if he’d like to resolve the situation before the draft. “Corey has a contract. That’s speculation. I find them interesting. I find all this speculation interesting.” One high-ranking club official from the NFC said the Bengals shouldn’t have a problem dealing Dillon for a second- or third-round pick because his $3.3 million salary for 2004 is so manageable. “I don’t think they can get a first-rounder, but he's an excellent player. If he says anything negative about it publicly, that would hurt his value,” he said. There can't be a trade until free agency opens, which is tentatively scheduled for March 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_33 Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 I think Dillon is a guy we should really look hard into aquiring....!! The only problem right now is we only have a 1st,2nd,3rd and a fifth...That could make it hard to get him... However we could do this..... We could offer a player for player swap and/or draft picks... Which might interest the bengals... I would consider the following players to put on the trade block for the bengals to take a look! !)Gardner Not sure if they wanted to get another reciever,but he does have value and that might interest them in making their core stronger... 2)Trotter....Not sure of the cap implication on us with his trade,but he is signed for some time and you know how Marvin like defenses... Plus I think we could fill that void if we had too.... 3)maybe one of our safeties...Ohalete or Bowens... I know their not considered elite bye any means,but if Taylor was on our draft Board if would be filled immediately...Ohalete probably has more value,but I would prefer it be Bowens....! Those are just guys I would consider...Whether or not that is possible.....I don't know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TODD Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Do it for a third. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisbob74 Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 This should tell you all you need to know about Dillion: After the Cincinnati Bengals last game (a loss to the hated Browns depriving Cincinnati of any chance at a playoff berth) Dillon took off his shoulder pads and threw them at the fans, cursing them in the process. He refused to talk to Marvin Lewis after the game as well (he was mad because he didn't like the rotation that Marvin utilized with him and Rudi Johnson). No thanks, Duce Staley please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Trade Gardner for him and then select Fitzgerald with the #5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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