According to Adam Caplan of Sirius XM NFL Radio, the Buccaneers have indeed signed former Colts tight end Dallas Clark, filling the roster hole that will be left when the Buccaneers are able to orchestrate a trade ridding themselves of tight end Kellen Winslow.
Source confirms the #Buccaneers did sign veteran TE Dallas Clark earlier today. Move was turn into the NFL’s personnel office.
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) May 21, 2012
Clark spent all of his 9 seasons in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts as their best receiving tight end. Clark’s best season came in 2009 when he caught 100 passes for 1,106 yards and 10 touchdowns. Since that season, Clark has missed significant playing time in 2010 and 2011 due to injury. With the Colts beginning a complete roster overhaul, it just didn’t make sense to keep Clark around.
It’s still unclear why the Buccaneers are trying to trade Winslow, but they are certainly moving quickly to move him out of town and put this series of moves behind them. Bringing in Clark will fill the receiving gap that Winslow leaves as he departs Tampa Bay, but Dallas Clark is not a blocking tight end, and his blocking ability, or lack thereof, was on full display in the Colts anemic offense last season. Replacing Winslow with Clark doesn’t seem like an equal trade off, and I can’t help but wonder why the Buccaneers feel it’s the right direction for their team right now.
