The Tampa Bay Buccaneers started this offseason with $44 million in cap space, and quickly added Jeff Faine, Ben Troupe, Warrick Dunn, Antonio Bryant, Marques Douglas, Teddy Lehman, Eugene Wilson, and a handful of other free agents.

Now comes word that RB Earnest Graham, who filled in admirably last year when Cadillac Williams went down with a torn platellor tendon, wants his share.  And maybe a little extra for his trouble?

He missed his second day of “voluntary” workouts yesterday, and speculation is that the contract situation is the reason why.  And with Drew Rosenhaus as his agent, would it shock anyone?

Per ProFootballTalk, Graham supposedly wants not just More Money, but Gore Money–as in the five-year, $28 million contract that Gore signed in March 2007, not the amount of money Al Gore spends on jet fuel to fly around the country talking about global warming. 

The thing is, Gore was coming off of a year with almost 1,700 yards rushing, 5.4 per carry, 106 per game, and 61 catches for almost 500 yards to boot–in other words, he was their offense in 2006.

Graham, on the other hand, was an after thought in 2007, until Williams AND Michael Pittman went down with injuries.  Yeah, he put up some ok numbers–900 yards rushing and 10 TDs, with about 50 catches, but only 4.0 yards per carry, which is decent, but not great.

Oh, and the Bucs still have Cadillac Williams–who frankly may not play in 2008, but is making progress on his rehab.  And they signed Dunn to fill Pittman’s role.  And they still have Michael Bennett, who could still make the team, and 2007 rookie Kenneth  Darby.  So it’s not like they don’t have options.

If the demand for Gore-type money is there, it’s probably just agent posturing–and with Drew Rosenhaus as his agent, would it shock anyone that they aim high?–but if they really expect to get that kind of money…well, I’m guessing this story won’t make Drew’s next book about how great he is.

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And in other Tampa Tears news, Graham isn’t the only Buc that’s wondering where his money at–QB Jeff Garcia is also looking for a little bit bigger piece of the pie.  He is participating in workouts, but somewhat grdgingly:

“That’s just it; nothing’s happening with the contract,” said Garcia, who is entering the final year of a two-year deal worth $7 million. “My agent has talked to them. We’re trying to work something out, but it’s not happening.

“I don’t plan on missing anything, and it’s only April, so there’s hopefully still time to work things out. That’s why I’m not getting too caught up in it right now. But it’s not where I’d like it to be.”

Welcome to the real world, Jeff.  When you’re a 38 year old quarterback who has been with 5 different teams in the last five years, missed a bunch of games due to injury, and frankly not looked all that impressive for a few of those years mixed in, it may not be the Bucs’ top priority to get you an extended deal at the dollar amount you want.  Especially when you’re in the second year of a two-year deal for $7 million.

Garcia is thought to want a contract around the league average for starting quarterbacks (about $7 million), and to make up some of the incentive bonus he apparently missed due to the Bucs decision to rest him last year.

Our thoughts?  Give him a couple million for the bonus, maybe throw him another incentive for 2008, and tell him to take it or leave it, and shut up about it.  It’s not like the Bucs don’t have a handful of other QBs on the roster that would like a crack at the job.