Instant Analysis: Kellen Winslow traded to Seattle

Ken Kelly

winslow

Greg Schiano means business.

Kellen Winslow was traded from Tampa Bay to Seattle late last night in exchange for a late round draft pick. Winslow had apparently fallen out of favor with the new brass in Tampa after he chose not to work out with his teammates recently. More than anything, this sends a message to the rest of the organization that while the team is very young, they won’t be treated as if they have training wheels.

The Bucs moved quickly to replace Winslow by signing former Indianapolis tight end Dallas Clark.  The two moves create a dynasty ripple effect all the way from Florida to Washington.

Let’s take a look at the players involved:

Kellen Winslow, TE SEA

It’s awfully tough to see Winslow ever becoming a viable fantasy player again. After burning a bridge in Tampa Bay (much like he did in Cleveland), he gets a fresh start in Seattle. However, the Seahawks employ a run first offense and haven’t used the tight end much over the past couple of seasons. In addition, Seattle already has a viable option in Zach Miller and a serviceable one in Cameron Morrah.

Winslow had a decent season last year with 75 catches for 763 yards and two scores, but repeating those numbers in the Emerald City will be awful tough. Not only will he have to beat out Miller and Morrah for playing time, he’ll need the offense to be tweaked a bit to retain his value.

There’s little doubt that Winslow’s career will be shortened by his knee problems and his days as a possible TE1 in dynasty leagues are all but over. If you have him, you just have to cross your fingers and hope he’s good enough to be your TE2 and earn some spot starts for you.

On a side note, it will be interesting to see what kind of reception Winslow gets from the “12th Man” in Seattle. When he was in High School, he was all set to sign with the University of Washington to play football until his Dad stepped in and wouldn’t allow him to go to the Northwest. While it’s water under the bridge for most fans in Seattle, it is an interesting little side story.

Zach Miller, TE SEA

Can this guy every catch a break?

After signing a nice contract last season, Miller was nearly non-existent in the Seahawk offense, posting just 25 catches for 233 yards and no touchdowns. With Winslow in town, he has one more player to fend off for playing time.

While we like Miller’s upside a lot more in dynasty leagues, it’s hard to see him making a huge impact this season unless the quarterback play improves dramatically. The addition of Winslow is just one more obstacle for Miller to overcome to regain the value he once had in Oakland.

Matt Flynn, QB SEA

Getting more weapons on offense is never a bad thing. However, his focus right now is simply to hold off Tarvaris Jackson and Russell Wilson for the starting gig – while that’s expected, it’s not seeming like a foregone conclusion at the moment.

Dallas Clark, TE TB

After some thought he may simply retire, Clark has found himself a nice home in Tampa Bay. While this is great news for Clark, it needs to be held in check. After all, his skills looked to be deteriorating fairly rapidly last year and this is simply not the same player who posted a 100/1,106/10 line in 2009. Simply put, there’s a reason why he was still a free agent in late May.

In Tampa Bay, he’ll likely be used as a nice red zone and “over the middle” option. With Luke Stocker on board and improving nicely, it’s tough to see Clark making a huge impact. If you’re a contending team and need a backup tight end, Clark may be worth kicking the tires on, but I wouldn’t be running to the wire to pick him up.

Luke Stocker, TE TB

Stocker has been a popular dynasty league stash for some time now and this news is good for his value, regardless of Clark coming to town. While his short term value may be stunted a bit with Clark on the roster, there’s no doubt that’s a short-term hurdle based on Clark’s age. Keep an eye on Stocker this offseason to see if he can make some noise – there could be some minor sleeper value here.

Josh Freeman, QB TB

Freeman struggled mightily last season, but still had a good percentage of his yards go to Winslow. It will be interesting to see where those go now that he’s gone. Could Mike Williams re-emerge? Will Stocker or Clark step up? Time will tell, but Freeman needs to improve quickly and losing Winslow doesn’t help tremendously.

Keep it here at DLF for all the offseason news and analysis!

 

ken kelly