Michael Clayton has been known to make the
spectacular catch then drop the easy one.
T.J. Houshmandzadeh has come and gone in Seattle and up next seems to be former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Michael Clayton, a player who some could say is the Bucs version of our Koren Robinson.
Drafted with the 15th overall pick in the 2004 draft out of Louisiana State University, Clayton has everything you could want in a receiver.
He’s 6-foot-4, 215 pounds with great leaping ability and enough speed to be as good of a deep threat as anyone in the league. At 26, he’s also still young.
Still, Clayton has failed to live up to the hype, displaying poor hands, a bad attitude and all-around inconsistent production. Sounds fun.
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After bursting onto the scene in his rookie year with 80 catches for 1,193 yards, he never managed more than 500 yards receiving in the next four seasons.
There were many reasons for Clayton’s fall from grace, most notably the constant injury problems he has faced. He has yet to finish a full season healthy since his rookie year.
Another problem has been the unstable nature of the quarterback situation in Tampa Bay since his arrival. Let’s list them:
Brad Johnson, Brian Griese, Chris Simms, Bruce Gradkowski, Tim Rattay, Luke McCown, Jeff Garcia
That’s seven different starting quarterbacks in five years. Still, that never seemed to hurt fellow receivers Joey Galloway and Antonio Bryant, who managed 1,000-yard seasons in the same situation.
Most damaging for Clayton though was his deteriorating relationship with coach Jon Gruden, who kept pulling Clayton in and out of the starting lineup throughout the years.
It had gotten so bad that Clayton was as good as gone from Tampa Bay this year until Gruden’s surprising firing, prompting Clayton to have a change of heart.
I feel great about the direction of the Bucs and would love to be a part of things there. I hope it all works out.
Having spent his entire pro career in a West Coast offense, Clayton would seem to be a good fit for Seattle but only if the team is looking for a bargain depth player. With his talent, he may be worth a shot in such a situation.
Ben Obomanu and Nate Burleson are both coming off season-ending injuries, and Courtney Taylor showed he isn’t ready for significant playtime, leaving Seattle in need of some quality depth.
Clayton is the classic boom or bust player, who could go on to blossom into a solid starter, maybe even a Pro Bowler for another team, or he could simply drift into obscurity, another in an endless line of wasted talents.
Reach Jeff Richards at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
