Kellen Winslow called the trade that sent him to Seattle a “perfect fit.” The Seahawks ultimately disagreed with that proposition.
PFT has confirmed multiple reports that Winslow has been released by the Seahawks.
Sent from Tampa after Greg Schiano’s Bucs decided they wanted to move on, Winslow will now become a free agent (a soldier for hire, if you will), for the first time in his career.
Drafted by the Browns, Winslow was traded to Tampa in 2009. The Bucs sent him to Seattle for a seventh-round pick in 2013, which could have upgraded to a sixth-round pick. (In theory, it’s possible that the pick did upgrade, if the condition was Winslow making it onto the final 53-man roster. He accomplished that feat. For less than a day.)
The sixth overall pick in 2004, Winslow wrecked his knee while performing stunts on a motorcycle in May 2005. Despite appearing in only two combined games over the first two years of his career, Winslow went on to have a solid career.
Whether that career will continue now depends on whether another team wants to bring him in.
Winslow was due to earn a base salary of $3.3 million in 2012. If he had been on the team’s Week One roster, that amount would have been fully guaranteed, via the CBA’s termination pay provision. For that reason, teams may not be interested in signing Winslow until after the first slate of games.
In the end, the Seahawks may have had the same concerns that the Buccaneers reportedly had. A tight end who has a history of demanding the ball may not be the ideal target for a rookie quarterback.