NFL tampa bay Buccaneers

We're entering a dark period of the NFL life right now. Nothing is going on. Players and coaches are on vacation. With that we look at 10 quarterback situations worth looking at before training camps start in late July, because, well, it's always about the quarterback.

1. Detroit. Matthew Stafford vs. Daunte Culpepper.

The situation: It's the same old argument. Do you start the rookie or the veteran? The No. 1 pick of the draft is Stafford, but the vet with a chance to win a few games is Culpepper. Stafford is the future but you don't want to damage it. For every Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco there's a Ryan Leaf and Vince Young.

Solution: Start Culpepper and wait until 2010 for Stafford.

What possess a man to leave one team that finished third in its division for another that didn't win a game the previous year?

Well, we asked cornerback Phillip Buchanon the other day why he left the Bucs, who finished third in the NFC South, for the Lions, and his answer was simple.

"I did want to stay in Florida," Buchanon said. "Tampa was going in a different direction and I truly feel like I'm still a starter, and Detroit was one of the teams that was actually there. There were a few other teams, but Tampa was taking their time and I didn't want to wait. You either want me or you don't."

While there is speculation of Michael Vick eventually becoming a Dolphin, Yahoo! Sports' Jason Cole has a pretty firm story that says Vick won't be playing in the NFL anytime soon. Cole also says that wide receiver Plaxico Burress is facing an indefinite suspension as well, which would put a giant bucket of cold water on any hopes he has of landing a solid free agent deal.

Cole cites three sources with knowledge of the situation. According to them, commissioner Roger Goodell will continue to throw his weight around when it comes to suspensions. He's already slapped wide receiver Donte Stallworth with an indefinite suspension after Stallworth pled guilty to DUI manslaughter. One of Cole's sources says its likely that Vick will be suspended for the entire 2009 season as well, which would mean he would be out of football for three seasons, making any return even tougher in 2010.

This just in from the "No Duh" department: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would prefer that rookie quarterback (and renowned "project" guy) Josh Freeman not be forced to start this season.

At least that's what GM Mark Dominik said recently, despite the recent word floating from the Tampa streets that Freeman could potentially be the team's in 2009.

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When Albert Haynesworth signed his seven-year, $100 million contract with the Redskins he immediately became the highest paid defensive player in the league.

But now he's told Sirius radio (as relayed by the Bucs Beat) that he could have actually earned a lot more if he was willing to become a Tampa Bay Buc. Instead, he wanted to go to Washington because he wanted to be part of a team in a big market--something that disqualified both the Titans and Bucs in his mind.

It's June, so a lot can change between now and the start of training camp in six weeks, but apparently the Buccaneers are thinking about giving the starting quarterback gig to rookie first-round pick Josh Freeman.

Before last season, I would have had a hard time supporting that plan, but Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco changed all that. Ryan led the Falcons, a four-win outfit in 2007, to the postseason; Flacco made it to the AFC Conference Championship game with the Ravens, a team that finished 5-11 the year before.

Now, the Bucs might have similar ideas for Freeman. And they were 9-7 in 2008, which, in theory, means they have fewer holes to patch.

A quick recap of the Buccaneers' offseason: Raheem Morris replaced Jon Gruden, the subsequent veteran house-cleaning, the club franchised Antonio Bryant and traded for Kellen Winslow, and then drafted quarterback Josh Freeman with the 17th overall pick in last month's draft.

We're two months from training camps, a time when most NFL teams are done with free agency (at least the big-name signings, primarily because most of those guys have jobs) and have transitioned to evaluating players currently on their rosters. Not the Bucs. They're still looking for wideouts.

Tampa Bay cornerback Torrie Cox is dealing with a facial laceration after teammate Aqib Talib inadvertently hit him with a helmet during the team's practice Wednesday. Hey, accidents happen, right? Of course they do.

Except that this only partially qualifies as an accident. Cox's injury came when he stepped between Talib and Bucs offensive lineman Donald Penn -- the actual target of Talib's helmet swing.

When Warrick Dunn entered the NFL in 1997, he decided he was going to spend a lot of his money on houses. But his goal wasn't to end up on MTV Cribs.

No, Dunn's goal was to spend money buying houses for families like his own, with a single parent struggling to keep a roof over the kids' heads. So Dunn started the Warrick Dunn Foundation, which purchases houses for single parents.

Dunn's foundation recently purchased a house for Shawn Palic and her three children. It's the 86th home his foundation has purchased.

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: