A move that's been rumored since the middle of last season has finally come to fruition as the Browns have traded Pro Bowl tight end Kellen Winslow to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The specific terms of the trade were not released by the Browns, but it's believed multiple picks will be headed Cleveland's way, including at least one first-day pick in the 2009 draft.
Winslow, who spent the first five seasons of his career with the Browns, was seeking a new contract from the club, and had requested a trade at the trading deadline in 2008. Through his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, Winslow had continued to lobby for a revamped deal with the new regime in Berea.
The move also buttresses just how much owner Randy Lerner believes in his new front-office tandem of head coach Eric Mangini and general manager George Kokinis. Lerner has the utmost respect for Winslow as both a player and as a person, and it's very telling that the owner would not stand in the way of trading one of the offense's most talented individuals.
As far as the financials concerned, the move will free approximately $3.6 million in new cap space.
Here's the club's official press release on the trade:
The Cleveland Browns announced today that the team has traded tight end Kellen Winslow to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for undisclosed draft picks.
“The Cleveland Browns thank Kellen for his contributions to this organization over the past five years,” said Browns General Manager George Kokinis. “We appreciate his passion for the game and wish him success in Tampa Bay. The draft picks we have obtained through this deal will give us greater flexibility as we look to infuse more talent and create competition and depth on this football team.”
The Browns selected Winslow with the sixth overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. In his five years in Cleveland, he played in 44 games, recording 219 receptions for 2,459 yards and 11 touchdowns. In 2006, he caught 89 passes for 875 yards and 3 touchdowns, and in 2007 he went to the Pro Bowl after catching 82 passes for 1,106 yards and 5 touchdowns. He played in 10 games in 2008, catching 43 passes for 428 yards and 3 touchdowns.