Lynch's 11-year run in Tampa ends ESPN.com news services TAMPA, Fla. -- Five-time Pro Bowl safety John Lynch won't be back with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next season. Although the Bucs had not yet released the 33-year-old, Lynch said Thursday he was given permission to talk to other teams after the Bucs turned down his request to restructure a deal that would have paid him $4.1 million in 2004 and $5 million in 2005. Lynch will be released later Thursday, according to ESPN.com's John Clayton. "I take great pride in the fact that in my career in the NFL I have never and will never play for a contract, rather any success I've had is the result of my play, my passion for the game I love, and the game I respect so much," Lynch said in a news conference held at a radio station in his hometown of San Diego and broadcast live in Tampa. "Those values never changed in this process. This decision was not a result of my unwillingness to restructure my contract. ... As a result, I will be playing football next year for a different team." Bucs general manager Bruce Allen scheduled a news conference for later Thursday. Tampa Bay has restructured the contracts of linebacker Derrick Brooks, cornerback Brian Kelly and offensive lineman Kerry Jenkins to create room under the NFL's $80.6 million salary cap. The team has signed eight players, including former Oakland running back Charlie Garner, while ignoring the biggest Tampa Bay free agent on the open market, defensive tackle Warren Sapp. Sapp's agent said Tuesday that the seven-time Pro Bowl selection had not yet received an offer from the Bucs and would begin talking to other teams. Lynch has played his entire 11-year career in Tampa Bay and along with Sapp and Brooks helped transform the Bucs from the laughingstock of the league into Super Bowl champions. ======================================== I wouldnt mind seeing him in a Texan's uniform but he is over 30 so they might not be interested.
I have always liked Lynch, to bad he will probably want to go to a contender and not the Texans, even though I think the Texans might suprise some people next year.
