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Time for a look at some headlines from around the NFC South.

• After San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith downplayed Cam Newton’s stats, Carolina linebacker Jon Beason defended his quarterback. Beason took to Twitter with a message for Smith. Beason said Smith would have been looking for a job if Peyton Manning had signed with San Francisco.

• Kellen Winslow, who was traded away by Tampa Bay on Monday night, said he can breathe in Seattle. He said things were getting a little stuffy in Tampa, where he and new coach Greg Schiano had some philosophical differences.

• New Orleans coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is installing a defense that won’t feature as many all-out blitzes as the Saints used in recent years. But safety Malcolm Jenkins said that doesn’t mean the Saints will be any less aggressive on defense.

• New Orleans offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael said backup quarterback Chase Daniel has been stepping up and taking a leadership role with Drew Brees not participating in organized team activities.

• The Sporting News ranks the 32 NFL head coaches and there is not an NFC South coach in the top 14. Suspended New Orleans coach Sean Payton isn’t included in the rankings, but his replacement, Joe Vitt, is. New Orleans fans, who have been a bit sensitive lately, aren’t going to be happy when they see where Vitt was ranked.

» AFC Scenarios: East | West | North | South » NFC: East | West | North | South

Yes, the start of training camps is two months away, but it’s never too early to consider the coming season. A look at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the Buccaneers in 2012.

Dream scenario (10-6): This will only happen if coach Greg Schiano makes the transition from college to the NFL more like Jim Harbaugh than Nick Saban or Bobby Petrino. Harbaugh isn’t the norm in this category, but it’s possible Schiano could follow in his tracks. The cupboard isn’t bare, it just needs organizing. The Bucs have assembled a lot of young talent in recent drafts -- Josh Freeman, Gerald McCoy, Brian Price, Mike Williams, Arrelious Benn, Adrian Clayborn, Mark Barron, Doug Martin and Lavonte David -- and Schiano showed he can build during his time at Rutgers.

The key to it all is Freeman. Is he the quarterback who threw 25 touchdowns and six interceptions in a 10-6 season in 2010 or the guy that threw 22 interceptions and looked awfully anxious last season? Schiano and his staff firmly believe the 2010 version was the real Freeman and they’ve done everything possible to upgrade his supporting cast. They brought in Vincent Jackson to be the No. 1 receiver and guard Carl Nicks to bolster an offensive line that has a chance to be very good. They also drafted Martin and plan to use him as an every-down running back.

If Freeman is for real, he should bounce back strong from last year’s debacle. Lots of coaches and scouts around the league still believe in Freeman, but we’ll soon find out if he still believes in himself or if last year forever shattered his confidence. But even if Freeman improves, the Bucs must be a lot better on defense than they were last season when they allowed more points (494) than any team in franchise history.

Nightmare scenario (4-12): As demonstrated by the likes of Saban and Petrino, NFL players don’t always respond well to hard-charging college coaches. There’s no doubt this team needs some order after the Wild West days of Raheem Morris, but Schiano must get his players to buy into the new order in their worlds or he could be in for trouble. Although ownership showed a willingness to spend in free agency and the Bucs have had some early draft picks in recent years, this job is far from paradise.

Few, if any, of those early draft picks have shown that they are the real deal. Maybe all they need is better coaching, but maybe the Bucs just haven’t drafted very well. If Freeman struggles again, the Bucs suddenly have a quarterback quandary on their hands. If they struggle on offense, there’s no way they can win games in the NFC South. You don’t win a lot of games with defense in the modern NFL and, at least on paper, Tampa Bay’s offense is much more talented than its defense.

If Freeman doesn’t take a step forward and the defense doesn’t show improvement, it will become last season all over again. This is not a franchise that can handle a lot more misery. Attendance has been lacking in recent years, and the Bucs aren’t going to fill up their stadium until they escape obscurity and win consistently.

We don’t know exactly what Tampa Bay’s new offense will look like until September, but there are some clues out there that suggest the Buccaneers could go away from the league-wide trend of throwing more to tight ends.

The Bucs had a major shakeup at the position this week when they traded Kellen Winslow to Seattle and brought in free agent Dallas Clark. The Bucs basically replaced one veteran pass-catcher with another.

Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano said he believes Clark can get back to being the same player he was before injuries limited his production with Indianapolis the past two seasons. In 2009, Clark caught 100 passes.

But, even if Clark is healthy, he might have a tough time registering a 100-catch season. The Bucs hired former New York Giants quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan as their offensive coordinator, so it’s safe to assume this offense will at least look a little like what the Giants run.

In a 2011 season in which eight tight ends, including Winslow, were targeted at least 110 times (according to ESPN Stats & Information), the Giants took a completely different approach. New York’s top tight end, Jake Ballard, was targeted 58 times and ranked No. 25 in tight-end targets. Ballard produced 38 catches for 604 yards and four touchdowns. Backups Bear Pascoe and Travis Beckum were targeted 16 and 10 times, respectively.

Maybe Sullivan doesn’t take the exact approach the Giants did. Maybe a healthy Clark convinces Sullivan to throw to the tight ends more often.

Or maybe the Bucs will follow what the Giants did and dare to be different than the rest of the league.

Time to take a run through the top headlines from around the NFC South.

• Interim New Orleans coach Joe Vitt said he’s been pleased with what he’s seen from the Saints so far in their offseason program. We’ll hear more from Vitt and players this afternoon, because the Saints have media availability after their workout.

• New Orleans rookie defensive tackle Aikem Hicks talked about adjusting to defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

• Tom Jones runs through the positives and negatives of Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano’s disciplined style. We’ll see how the Bucs take to Schiano in the long run. But I like what I’ve seen out of Schiano so far. He has brought structure to a team that didn’t have any last year, and that’s what led to the 10-game losing streak to end last season and cost predecessor Raheem Morris his job.

• Carolina defensive end Thomas Keiser has been commuting between California and Charlotte each week. He’s working to finish his degree at Stanford, but also has been taking part in the team’s offseason program.

• Falcons guard Justin Blalock will serve as a spokesman for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

• Atlanta tight end Tony Gonzalez came in at No. 53 on the NFL Network’s list of the top 100 players for 2012. Not bad for a guy who is 36.

• New Orleans linebacker Jonathan Vilma came in at No. 58 on that same list. That one is more than surprising. Vilma had an off year in 2011, when he was slowed by a knee injury. He also is scheduled to be suspended this season, unless he wins an appeal.

If I had to pick one undrafted rookie to make an NFC South roster right now, it would be Tampa Bay offensive lineman Desmond Wynn.

That’s because the Bucs obviously thought very highly of Wynn when they signed him. I just got a look at the contract details for all the NFC South undrafted rookie free agents and Wynn’s $15,000 signing bonus was easily the highest. That might have something to do with the fact Wynn played for coach Greg Schiano at Rutgers.

A lot of undrafted rookies got a signing bonus of $1,000 or $2,000 and a fair amount got no signing bonus at all. But, as he’s been known to do at times in the past, Tampa Bay general manager Mark Dominik handed out several signing bonuses that were well above the league average. Offensive lineman Bradley Sowell got $10,000, offensive lineman Mike VanDerMeulen got $8,000, cornerback Leonard Johnson got $7,500, safety Tramain Thomas got $7,000 and fullback Cody Johnson got $5,000.

Let’s take a look at the rest of the division and see which other undrafted rookies got at least $5,000 to sign.

The Falcons gave out only one signing bonus of $5,000 and that went to defensive end Louis Nzegwu.

The Saints gave running back Travaris Cadet, offensive lineman Brian Folkerts, offensive lineman Aderious Simmons and safety Johnny Thomas each a $5,000 signing bonus.

The Panthers gave receivers Jared Green and Rico Wallace each $7,500. Defensive tackle Nate Chandler got $6,000. Offensive linemen Will Blackwell and Matt Reynolds each signed for $5,000.

Tampa Bay’s trade of Kellen Winslow might have been about more than just the tight end and new coach Greg Schiano not being on the same page.

The move might have been made with an eye toward the salary cap and the future. Yeah, I know that may sound a little weird because the Bucs haven’t been big spenders. In recent years, they’ve had one of the league’s lowest payrolls and easily have stayed under the salary cap. That’s still true this year as the Bucs have a little over $12 million in cap space remaining. They currently have used about $133.5 of their $146 million of cap space this year and Tampa Bay’s cap includes $23.5 million of space for a rollover for space not used last year.

But the Bucs spent big in free agency this year and next year’s going to be a different story. The cap isn’t expected to be much more than $120 million in 2013. Prior to the Winslow deal, the Bucs already had $117.4 million committed toward next year’s draft. By trading Winslow, the Bucs erased his $5.6 million cap figure for 2013, so that drops them down to $111.8 for the moment. But that’s going to change quickly. First-round draft picks Mark Barron and Doug Martin will sign contracts that will take up several million dollars of cap space next year. And the overall view of Tampa Bay’s cap situation could change dramatically after the 2012 season because some of the young players could trigger escalator clauses and it’s possible the team could look to extend the contracts of quarterback Josh Freeman and some others between now and next offseason.

The Bucs are going to have to be very cognizant of salary-cap space in 2013. They already started to address that with the Winslow deal. This is a work in progress because Schiano still is getting to know his personnel. But, if a player doesn’t seem to fit Schiano’s style and has a high cap number for 2013, that player could be joining Winslow.

I'm looking at Tampa Bay's numbers for 2013 and I'm seeing guys like linebacker Quincy Black ($5.75 million), guard Davin Joseph ($6 million), defensive tackle Gerald McCoy ($10.9 million), tackle Donald Penn ($6.3 million) and thinking it would be wise for those guys to get on Schiano's good side and stay there.

Trent Dilfer, Gary Horton, Mel Kiper Jr. and Matt Williamson got together and came up with an outstanding project that looks a few years down the road. Check out this Insider post in which they have NFL Future Power Rankings for all teams.

The rankings are based on what the panel projects teams will look like in the 2015 season. The panel used the following criteria -- roster, quarterback, draft, front office and coaching staff -- and weighed each in order of importance to come up with the rankings. You can see a more detailed explanation of the methodology here.

From an NFC South perspective, the rankings don’t look all that different from results in recent years or what most people are projecting in 2012.

The panel says the New Orleans Saints, who have won two of the past three division titles, will be the division’s best team in 2015. The panel notes the bounty scandal and its punishments, but the consensus seems to be that the Saints can overcome that because there’s a strong nucleus in place, as well as a good coaching staff and front office. Horton notes the Saints have to build around guys like Jimmy Graham and Mark Ingram in the future. I think it’s true that the Saints have to develop some more young stars in the next few years. But, as long as Drew Brees is the quarterback, the Saints should be a top-10 team.

After the Saints, there’s a bit of a surprise. Although the Saints and Falcons have been the class of the division in recent years, the panel doesn’t see that quite being the case in 2015. The Falcons are No. 13 and the Panthers are No. 12.

Let’s start with why the Panthers are viewed as a team on the rise. Dilfer sums it up well by saying quarterback Cam Newton has an incredibly high ceiling. In 2015, Newton will be just approaching that ceiling. There’s no doubt the future looks bright for Carolina, but the Panthers may have to replace longtime stars Jordan Gross and Steve Smith before too long.

I disagree with the panel slightly on the placement of the Falcons. I think Atlanta will be a top-10 team in 2015 and probably each year between now and then. I agree with the panel that the Falcons have some old players at several positions, but I think general manager Thomas Dimitroff gradually will address those issues. As long as Matt Ryan and Julio Jones stay healthy and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon continues to emerge as a defensive star, I think the Falcons will be an annual playoff contender.

The Buccaneers are No. 19. While that ranking is last in the division, the Bucs have been in the 20s and 30s in a lot of recent rankings. The panel sounds optimistic about the Bucs in discussing the young talent and the new coaching staff. But there are a lot of unknowns. If quarterback Josh Freeman can get his career back on track and coach Greg Schiano can make the transition from college to the NFL, I think the Bucs have a real chance to jump up in the rankings when 2015 actually rolls around.

Time for a look at the top headlines from around the division.

Jeff Schultz writes that the Saints still are playing the “victim card’’ by saying they’ve been “railroaded’’ in the bounty scandal. It’s a point worth pondering. Sure, the suspended players have a right to the appeals process. But, if the suspensions are upheld, there comes a time when the Saints have to start moving forward.

Commissioner Roger Goodell knows he’s not a favorite among New Orleans fans these days. But Goodell insisted he has to act in the best long-term interest of the game and isn't worried about popularity contests.

Goodell said he would encourage Atlanta to bid to host a Super Bowl if the city gets a new stadium in the future. There’s a perception out there that Atlanta never will get another Super Bowl because the city was crippled by an ice storm when it last hosted the game in 2000. That was a fluke. If Atlanta does get a new stadium, it almost certainly will get a Super Bowl within a few years. That’s pretty much how things work in the NFL these days -- build a new stadium and you get a Super Bowl.

Mike Tolbert thinks he can be “the missing piece’’ for the Carolina Panthers. Remember how that worked out after Ray Edwards said he’d be essentially the same thing for the Atlanta Falcons last year? Tolbert’s got a real chance to help the Panthers. They’re saying he was brought into play fullback and I’m sure he will. But Tolbert’s versatile and I think he’ll also get some playing time in a backfield that already includes DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. But Tolbert just needs to be one of many pieces for the Panthers. Their offense already is good, but they need a lot of pieces to emerge on defense.

Check out this column by Daniel Cox. It discusses the possibility of the NFC South being the NFL’s strongest division when it comes to quarterbacks. I think there’s a pretty strong case for that. Drew Brees has a great track record and Matt Ryan has a good one. If Cam Newton can build on his outstanding rookie season and Josh Freeman can get back to his 2010 form, I don’t think there’s any way any other division has as deep a crop of starting quarterbacks.

Tampa Bay backup quarterback Dan Orlovsky played a role in encouraging free-agent tight end Dallas Clark to sign with the Buccaneers. The two previously were teammates with the Indianapolis Colts.

Yet another difference between new Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano and predecessor Raheem Morris. Instead of “beating the heat’’ the way Morris did by practicing early or practicing indoors at practice field, Schiano wants to embrace the Florida heat and use it to get his team in better physical condition.

TAMPA, Fla. -- You could suggest the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stepped out of character when they signed free-agent tight end Dallas Clark late Monday night.

Before adding Clark, the Bucs had only two players on the roster who were 30 or older. One was 37-year-old cornerback Ronde Barber, but he literally is grandfathered in because he has spent his entire career with the team and is a Tampa Bay icon. The other is defensive tackle Gary Gibson (30). He’s also an exception. Gibson, a career backup, played for coach Greg Schiano at Rutgers, is here for depth and there’s no guarantee of him making the regular-season roster.

Other than them, every other player on the roster has an age that starts with a 2. This is a team that's made it clear it will build primarily through the draft.

Clark spent nine seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, and as recently as the 2009 season was one of the league’s most productive tight ends -- when he had 100 receptions. But Clark suffered a season-ending wrist injury in the middle of the 2010 season. Last season, Clark had an assortment of injuries and was limited to 11 games, in which he produced 34 catches. That led to speculation that Clark’s career might be over.

“I’m not done playing,’’ Clark said Tuesday after his first workout with his new team. “You’re an NFL player. Every day you are proving yourself. The second you stop, you are out the door.’’

Clark said he’s over last season’s injuries and isn’t hampered by anything.

“I believe whole heartedly that he is going to return to his form and play the way he is capable,’’ Schiano said. "That’s what we need. I think he can do everything we are going to ask him to do. And it is really good to have strong veteran presence in that tight end room as well.”

But the thing is, Clark really isn’t all that much different than Barber or Gibson. The Bucs are hoping he’ll be their main pass-catcher at tight end, but they also plan to play Luke Stocker in a lot of situations. Their investment in Clark isn’t all that huge. They signed him to a very simple contract.

It’s a one-year deal. He’s scheduled to make $2.7 million in base salary and only $1 million of that is guaranteed. There was no signing bonus or any incentives. That comes after the Bucs freed up $4.8 million in cap room by trading tight end Kellen Winslow to Seattle.

If Clark bounces back and produces anything similar, the Bucs got a bargain and they’ll be thrilled. If the injuries linger or Clark isn’t the same player he was before, it’s not like the Bucs have made a huge long-term investment in him.

In short, the Bucs entered into a low-risk deal that at least has the potential to bring a lot of rewards. If it doesn’t, there’s really no harm.

In other financial news, the Bucs have given wide receiver Preston Parker a one-year contract extension. Parker still will make the same $540,000 in base salary this year that previously was scheduled. But he received a $50,000 signing bonus and his 2013 salary will rise to $1 million.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Kellen Winslow had been gone from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for all of about 12 hours. From the way coach Greg Schiano answered a question about why he traded away the tight end, you would think Winslow had been gone for 12 years.

“I’m going to hesitate to look back," Schiano said. “I’m going to focus on the guys that are here.’’

Read into it what you want, but I think it’s pretty obvious what’s going on here. Schiano’s cleaning house of guys that don’t fit the new style he’s bringing to the Buccaneers.

Winslow said Schiano told him he wasn’t happy the veteran tight end had spent most of his offseason in San Diego, rather than working with his teammates. Winslow got the message on Saturday night, after he had arrived in Tampa with plans to join the Bucs on Monday. But that was too late for Schiano, who also might have had some doubts about relying too heavily on a tight end that missed a lot of practices with a sore knee over the last three seasons, even though Winslow never missed a game with the Bucs.

Schiano is a Bill Belichick disciple. He believes players should practice, at least most of the time. Schiano also believes in doing things his own way.

Schiano made it clear when he took the job that every player on the roster was getting a fresh start. That was true in some ways, but some guys were starting off with a strike against them. Winslow was one. Tanard Jackson was another. Both had issues in the past. Schiano kept them around for a bit, but he parted ways with both of them at the first sign of trouble.

The Bucs weren’t happy with the approach Jackson was taking in the offseason as he attempted to come back from injury last year. The Bucs weren’t able to trade him, so they simply released him. I’m pretty sure there will be some more casualties along the way. Schiano has made it very clear guys have to toe his line, which is about 20 yards away from the blurry line Raheem Morris used to stand behind.

“There’s really not a message," Schiano said. "It is not one of those situations. The only message I want to address is we need to be the best football team we can be. Time is our enemy. We are running out of time. Teams in our division have a head start on us.''

Intentional or not, I think Schiano has sent a very clear message. It doesn’t matter if you’re cornerback Aqib Talib, who seems to be starting off with an 0-2 count and Stephen Strasburg on the mound, or a guy with a spotless background.

If you take one step over Schiano’s line, you’re going to be talked about as a former member of the Bucs.

TAMPA, Fla. – I just arrived out at One Buccaneer Place and the Bucs already are on the practice field.

I’m heading out there and taking roll will be my first task. Just want to make sure no one else has been traded or released overnight.

I’ll be back after practice and interviews. Coach Greg Schiano is scheduled to talk after the workout and I’m pretty sure we’ll hear his logic behind trading away veteran tight end Kellen Winslow and signing Dallas Clark as his replacement.

Let's take a look at the top Tuesday morning headlines from around the division.

This one sounds a little strange at first. Carolina coach Ron Rivera said Brandon LaFell “encapsulates who we are’’. Think about that for a minute. LaFell is a young player that has shown some flashes of promise. But, overall, LaFell hasn’t done all that much. He hasn’t even been able to permanently lock up the No. 2 receiver job, but the hope is he can fill that role and start showing more consistency. So, in a way, LaFell does represent the Panthers. They’re a young team with a lot of potential, but they have yet to arrive.

Joseph Person takes a look at the top position battles for the Carolina Panthers' defense as they begin workouts on the field. The top one is for the No. 2 cornerback job. Fans might not want to hear this, but it looks as if that’s Captain Munnerlyn’s job. He remains undersized, and that makes him a target for opposing offenses. But unless Brandon Hogan, who played little as a rookie as he recovered from knee surgery, takes a huge step forward, I don’t see anyone else on the roster ready to challenge Munnerlyn.

There is one slight positive to New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees being unsigned and not participating in offseason workouts. Safety Roman Harper said that makes it easier to install the defense of new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Harper said if Brees was around, he would show no mercy on a defense that’s going through some big adjustments.

Gary Shelton writes that Kellen Winslow shouldn’t be surprised by the Buccaneers' decision to trade him. He’s right. It was pretty obvious that Winslow’s a guy who is used to doing things as he pleases. It’s also pretty obvious coach Greg Schiano runs a very tight ship. If Winslow really wanted to play for Schiano, he should have realized it was time for some changes. At the very least, he should have first talked to the new coach about his plans for the offseason. I’m not sure Schiano would have been excited at the prospect of Winslow spending some of his time working out in San Diego. But it’s at least possible the coach and player could have worked out a deal if the situation was put on the table before workouts started.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t take long to unload Kellen Winslow, after telling the veteran tight end he was on the market for a trade.

The Bucs announced late Monday night that Winslow had been traded to the Seattle Seahawks for a seventh-round draft pick in 2013 (that can rise to a sixth-round pick if Winslow meets certain playing-time and statistical requirements in Seattle) and they quickly turned around and signed veteran Dallas Clark to replace him.

The move came after Winslow broke the news to Sirius XM NFL Radio on Monday morning that coach Greg Schiano had said the Bucs wanted to trade him. Winslow said Schiano expressed unhappiness that he wasn’t taking part in offseason workouts with his teammates.

Although the Bucs only got a late-round pick for Winslow, it’s a still victory that the Bucs were able to get anything for a player who probably would have been released if no one offered anything in trade. Schiano is in the process of cleaning up Tampa Bay’s locker room and Winslow follows safety Tanard Jackson, who previously was released, as another player that didn’t fit the team’s new personality.

Clark may be a better fit in the locker room and he and Winslow might be an even exchange on the field at this point in their careers. Winslow had 218 catches for 2,377 yards and five touchdowns in three seasons with the Bucs. Winslow never missed a game in that span, but missed lots of practice time.

Clark may be on the downside of his career, but he may be a better fit in Schiano’s system. Clark spent the past nine seasons with Indianapolis. He started 111 of 114 career games, while catching 427 passes for 4,887 yards and 46 touchdowns.

"Dallas Clark is a consummate pro and proven playmaker," Tampa Bay general manager Mark Dominik said. "He will be another asset, on and off the field, for our team. In addition to Luke Stocker's continued improvement in his ability as an every-down tight end, we feel we have both talent and depth at the tight end position."

You might want to check out the audio of Tampa Bay tight end Kellen Winslow telling SiriusXM NFL radio that the Buccaneers have told him they’ll try to trade him.

I heard the tail end of the interview in my car earlier Monday, but didn’t hear the strongest stuff until I got the full audio.

Winslow said coach Greg Schiano was “kind of upset" that he wasn’t working out with his teammates in the offseason and wasn’t in Tampa last week, when the Bucs began the on-field portion of their organized team activities.

“You know, look, I’ve been there the last three years and I’ve had a successful career so far," Winslow said. “You just don’t get rid of one of your best players because of that."

Winslow said he had been working out on his own in San Diego and flew back to Tampa on Saturday night. Winslow said he planned to begin working out with his teammates Monday, but Schiano informed him Saturday night that the team wanted to move in a different direction and would attempt to trade him. If a deal can’t be worked out -- and other teams may be hesitant to take on Winslow’s current contract -- it’s safe to assume Winslow will be released.

“That’s just what I was told," Winslow said. “I have nothing bad to say about Coach Schiano. It was just a disagreement on why I’m not there yet."

I get Winslow’s point about not getting rid of a good player for not spending the entire offseason with his teammates. Winslow has been a good player and it’s not unusual for some veterans to skip all or most of the offseason program and show up only for minicamps. Carolina receiver Steve Smith has done that frequently in the past.

But Winslow doesn’t have quite the stature of Smith. And whatever status he had with former coach Raheem Morris disappeared the moment Schiano was hired. Schiano comes from the Bill Belichick school of coaching and he’s trying to set some framework for his team. He’s making it real clear that players will do things his way -- or else they won’t play for the Bucs.

It has been a slow process, but Greg Schiano is obviously cleaning house in Tampa Bay.

Veteran tight end Kellen Winslow told Sirius NFL Radio on Monday morning that he has been told by the Buccaneers that his services no longer are required. Winslow said team officials said they will try to trade him.

That might be difficult now that the rest of the world knows Winslow is on his way out of Tampa Bay. But the Bucs appear more than ready to move on from the tight end that joined them in 2009. Adam Schefter reports the Bucs worked out veteran tight end Dallas Clark last week, and appear to be the favorites to sign him.

Although bothered by a sore knee that forced him to miss a lot of practice time last season, Winslow, 28, appeared in all 16 games and caught 75 passes. But age and Winslow’s knee probably weren’t the main reasons why the Bucs have decided to move on. Winslow said he was told by the team that one reason he won’t be back is because he hasn’t been taking part in voluntary offseason workouts.

That seems to matter a lot to Schiano, and it should. He’s trying to instill order in a team that had none last season. The Bucs previously released safety Tanard Jackson, and team officials said they weren’t happy with how Jackson was approaching the offseason. Schiano came in saying everyone was getting a fresh start. That was true, but, in the cases of Jackson and Winslow, the Bucs have shown there's no room to slip up.

The way the Bucs dealt with Jackson and are dealing with Winslow sends a clear message to the rest of the roster that Schiano is running a tighter ship.

Back in February, I speculated about the possibility of the Bucs moving on without Winslow. They don't necessarily need salary-cap room, but releasing him would instantly free up $4.8 million.