FanHouse Ike Hilliard

On Sunday night, October 19, 2008, Ike Hilliard fell awkwardly to the turf at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

Seattle Seahawks linebackers Lofa Tatupu and Leroy Hill had sandwiched the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' slim wide receiver near his head, as if trying to make him disappear into the thin fall air.

Still, Hilliard, a man with a history of neck injuries, was the luckiest man in the stadium.

You see, the 12-year NFL veteran wasn't supposed to be on the field that day. Hilliard's career, in fact, wasn't to last past its rookie season.

"I had a neck fusion year one of my NFL career, and [the doctors] weren't encouraged that I'd be able to play," said the 33-year-old Hilliard, who now is the wide receivers coach for the UFL's Florida Tuskers.

"Then, I played 11 more seasons."

To save some cap room prior to free agency, the Buccaneers waved farewell to five players, including wide receivers Joey Galloway and Ike Hilliard. Of course, when you cut two of the six receivers on your active roster, you leave yourself with a bit of a depth issue. To bridge the gap a bit, Tampa Bay has reportedly re-upped wide receiver Michael Clayton to a five-year deal.

You have to believe that the Bucs will guarantee as little of the contract as possible, given Clayton's rather rapid decline since a sensational rookie season in 2004. In his debut year out of LSU, Clayton put up 80 catches for 1,193 yards and seven touchdowns. Since then, over a span of four seasons, Clayton has 1,513 yards and just two measly touchdowns.

Aside from having a new coaching staff and a new front office in 2009, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are also going to have quite a few new faces on the field.

On Wednesday, the Buccaneers announced they will be releasing Joey Galloway, Derrick Brooks, Cato June, Warrick Dunn and Ike Hilliard.

According to PFT, the sweeping cuts will save Tampa Bay over $9 million in cap space, on top of the $40-plus million it entered the offseason with.

A lot of people were surprised when the Buccaneers used the 15th overall pick of the 2004 draft to take wideout Michael Clayton.

While he was a big target, he was considered slow and not much of a deep threat. All Clayton did was haul in 80 passes for 1,193 yards and 7 TDs, and a 14.9 yards-per-catch average. So much for that, right?

Um, not quite. He stumbled through the next three seasons, managing just 87 receptions for 1,029 yards and a single touchdown. Things got so bad that there were some concerns he might not even make the team last summer.

He did, obviously, but it took nearly 12 months for Clayton to return to the form that made him one of the league's best rookies four years ago.

Things are going so well, in fact, that head coach Jon Gruden hasn't threatened to cut him. Not even once.

Trades outside of draft weekend are so rare in the NFL these days that some people probably don't even know when the league's in-season trade deadline is (It's next Tuesday, by the way).

It's the exact opposite of say, Major League Baseball, where every fan in the league knows July 31 as the day. It's like a holiday on the league's calendar, as winning teams add their final piece to the puzzle, while losing teams look to gain some hope for next season. Having said that, there's been quite a few rumblings around the league the past few days about teams looking to swing a deal.

First, we had the news that Matt Millen laughingly tried to get DeMarcus Ware for Roy Williams, who may or may not be on the trade market. Then came a report that San Francisco might have interest in Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmanzadeh.

For 46 minutes and 48 seconds, the Chicago Bears defense allowed only seven points, completely stifled the run, and took the ball away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers four times. Of course, they only held a 10 point lead and proceeded to stop guarding the pass ... which resulted in a 27-24 overtime loss in the 2008 home opener.

If you didn't watch the game and only looked at the stats, you'd be apt to blame this loss on the defense. While it was ridiculous to allow that last second drive to Brian Griese at home, it shouldn't have come down to that. Twice the Bears took the ball away deep in Tampa territory, and those two takeaways resulted in exactly three points. Kyle Orton also threw a pick-six on one of the worst throws I've ever seen an NFL quarterback make -- seriously, how the hell do you not see a dude who checks in at 6'5" standing right in front of your desired target?

Yes, it was a huge day through the air for Brian Griese. It has to be to garner over 400 yards passing. Of course, that was with only 6.1 yards per attempt (67 freaking passing attempts!).

After playing for three different teams between the 2004 and 2006 seasons, Antonio Bryant had no team in 2007. In 2008, he not only found himself a fourth NFL franchise to call home, he's earned himself a starting job in Tampa Bay opposite Joey Galloway, according to Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg Times.

Bryant was given a one-year contract this off-season, and was competing for the starting spot along with Maurice Stovall, Ike Hilliard and former first-round pick Michael Clayton. Bryant won the job, despite not playing in the teams final two preseason games.

"He's going to be out there with Joey,' receiver Ike Hilliard said. "That's the decision coach (Jon) Gruden made. He's obviously a guy we're looking forward to taking our offense to another level.''

As I said yesterday in the Buccaneers preview, I've never been a big Bryant fan. He can be a frustrating player on (and off) the field, and there's a reason three teams have given up on him in the past, while he was out of the league entirely in 2007.

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet the ...
NFC South defending champs! I say that with sarcasm because, well, it just doesn't seem plausible. With the exception of one computer (whose owners didn't really even believe it), almost no one saw the Bucs' season coming. Especially after Cadillac Williams went down for the season. But they did it anyway. The problem now for fantasy owners is that very few of the Tampa Bay players will sneak up on anyone. Earnest Graham, in particular, is already being targeted in the second and third-round range.

The Breakout
Ugh. Really? I mean, come on. I guess if we're saying "sleeper" here, I'll take Cadillac, just for the upside. I was going say Michael Clayton, but that just seems lazy. Cadillac reportedly has gotten a lot healthier since last season, but hey, there's this Graham guy. Graham can't be a breakout simply because he's going relatively high, and it seems like the Bucs won't give him enough touches to make anything more than a RB2.

The Bust
Which is why he lands here. Garcia's only worth using frequently in two-QB leagues and Galloway will again be a frustrating WR2 or No. 3 that goes off/on depending on whether he's active or not in your lineup. Graham on the other hand is going somewhere from the late second to third round. Simply based on that and the potentially crowded backfield, he's the only guy on this team that can bust.

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet the ...
NFC South defending champs! I say that with sarcasm because, well, it just doesn't seem plausible. With the exception of one computer (whose owners didn't really even believe it), almost no one saw the Bucs' season coming. Especially after Cadillac Williams went down for the season. But they did it anyway. The problem now for fantasy owners is that very few of the Tampa Bay players will sneak up on anyone. Earnest Graham, in particular, is already being targeted in the second and third round range.

The Breakout
Ugh. Really? I mean, come on. I guess if we're saying "sleeper" here, I'll take Cadillac, just for the upside. I was going say Michael Clayton, but that just seems lazy. Cadillac reportedly has gotten a lot healthier since last season, but hey, there's this Graham guy. Graham can't be a breakout simply because he's going relatively high, and it seems like the Bucs won't give him enough touches to make anything more than a RB2.