--LB Derrick Brooks appears to be leaning toward retirement following his release from the Bucs after 14 seasons. But his natural body clock is gearing up to prepare for another NFL season.
"This time of year, I'm always fueling the tank back up to get ready to go," Brooks said. "My body is in that mode. Until something happens and I decide that's not what I want to do, then that's what I'm going to prepare myself to do. As I prepare, if those options start to look like more of a reality, I'll pursue them. If not, I won't."
--When Kellen Winslow Jr. met 32-year-old Bucs coach Raheem Morris, he thought the youngest coach in the NFL was a player.
"Have you met this guy?" Winslow said. "Oh, yeah. I'm excited. I thought he was a player. I did. I didn't even know the name. I liked him. He's a good guy."
--The release of Derrick Brooks, Warrick Dunn, Joey Galloway, Cato June and Ike Hilliard leaves a big leadership void in the Bucs' locker room.
"It's going to be hard for some of these guys, I'll be honest with you," Brooks said. "To come into this locker room and not see me as a teammate. It's going to be hard. But I'm going to try to do the best I can to help them move on."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "There's never a good time to make these types of decisions." - Bucs coach Raheem Morris on cutting LB Derrick Brooks.
