Kellen Winslow Skips Bucs OTAs, Warren Sapp Unimpressed

After five sometimes-tumultuous years in Cleveland, the Browns traded Kellen Winslow to the Buccaneers this offseason. It was an opportunity for the tight end to get a fresh start, a new beginning, a rebirth ... any cliche works here, really. Except that, on Tuesday, Winslow missed the start of organized team activities (OTAs) with his new club.

In general, it's hardly a big deal; OTAs aren't mandatory and while it's good for team-building and whatnot, veterans don't get much out of the experience. At least those not learning a new system. That wasn't the case for Winslow, and it might explain why former Bucs defensive tackle Warren Sapp took exception to Winslow's decision to skip out on voluntary workouts:

"So when your team fires up OTA's and you're not here, I guess you're being misunderstood again, right?'' Sapp said. "Your past don't equal your future, but it will damn sure give me some reflection of what you might do. I'll leave it at that.''

Sapp probably could have been more diplomatic, but his point remains: Winslow comes off looking bad. Maybe he has a legit excuse, but for now Bucs fans just assume he's the same dude who flapped his gums out of Cleveland while underproducing for much of his time there. But that problem is easily solved: Drew Rosenhaus releases a statement saying that Winslow made a mistake, he offers a public apology, and promptly shows up for work. Fans are forgiving like that.

The bigger issue: how does new coach Raheem Morris handle this? Morris, 32, has zero head coaching experience, and he spent the spring ridding the roster of most of the veterans. Complicating matters: the quarterback job is still up for grabs. Unlike, say, Mike Tomlin, who came into as stable a situation as a young coach could hope, Morris will have a lot to sort out prior training camp. And that was before Winslow missed the first day of OTAs.

Who knows, maybe Winslow forgot to set his alarm clock. In the scheme of things, this won't be the defining moment of Morris' rookie season. But it's May -- it's something to take our minds off Brett Favre, even if momentarily.