Stevens Grateful For His Opportunity

By ROY CUMMINGS The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 17, 2007

TAMPA - Jerramy Stevens didn't want to talk about his past on Wednesday. It's hard to blame him. It is, after all, a past you would rather forget about than dwell on.

It is a past riddled with mistakes, the kind that can land you in a jail cell for hours and days at a time.

It is a past Stevens seems to want to run from, but he can't. It follows him like a shadow, and in addition to time and worry, it's costing him money - lots and lots of money.

Most tight ends with Stevens' blend of size, speed and agility are making between $2 million and $5 million per year. When he signed with the Bucs last month, it was for one year and $600,000 - with no signing bonus.

Stevens doesn't seem to mind. Considering he was arrested two months ago and charged with driving while intoxicated and possession of marijuana, he says he is grateful for the opportunity.

"It's a new start, a fresh start," Stevens said after Wednesday's voluntary workout at One Buc Place. "That's why it would be a mistake for me to dwell on [the past]. That's why my focus is on going forward."

The Bucs can only hope it stays that way. They're not desperate for help at tight end, but with Dave Moore gone and Anthony Becht nearing the end of his career, they certainly could use an upgrade.

Though he has had trouble holding on to catchable balls - he dropped one during Super Bowl XL in Detroit - he has the physical makeup necessary to be one of the game's best tight ends.

That's why the Bucs first began pursuing him shortly after the free-agent signing period began in early March and why they continued to pursue him even after his latest run-in with the law.

It helped that just about every other team in the league, including the Seahawks, who drafted Stevens 28{+t}{+h} overall in 2002, had all but given up on signing him. But Stevens might have ended up here anyway.

You see, Tampa is the place Stevens says he was eyeing most when he hit the market in March. In fact, the only thing that kept him from signing here in March was his most recent arrest.

And make no mistake, that arrest slowed the process considerably. Following that arrest, the Bucs had to take a much harder look at Stevens.

Stevens, meanwhile, had to work even harder at convincing the Bucs that he was worth taking a chance on. He did a good job, because he is here working out and trying to put his past behind him.

"I was very candid with [General Manager Bruce Allen] and Coach [Jon] Gruden, letting them know that I have made mistakes in the past," Stevens said of the conversation he had with the Bucs' brass.

"I mean, it's not to be taken lightly, and I don't take it lightly. But it's something I'm trying to put behind me, and I'm glad it didn't deter them from allowing me to come and be a part of their program."

How long Stevens remains depends largely on the success he has putting his problems behind him. Allen has suggested there is a "zero tolerance" policy in place for Stevens.

That seems to be just fine with Stevens, too. He acknowledged Wednesday that his mistakes likely have pushed him to the brink of extinction as an NFL player and that staying on the field means staying clean off it.

And in this case, clean most likely means sober. Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck recently said that all of Stevens' troubles stem from alcohol abuse. It's a point that's hard to argue.

At least two of Stevens' arrests, including the March arrest in which his .204 blood alcohol level was more than double the legal limit (.08) in Arizona, have been alcohol related.

"That was a slip-up, a huge slip-up, a mis-step," Stevens said of the March arrest. "It was me fighting me. But now I've got to let everyone see that [I've changed], and that starts with showing my teammates.

"And the only way I can do it is not make any more mistakes and continue to play well on the field. Get on the field and help my team win - that's the best way for me to get rid of that stereotype."

And the past.

Reporter Roy Cummings can be reached at (813) 259-7979 or rcummings@tampatrib.com.

JERRAMY STEVENS' LEGAL TROUBLES

A timeline of Stevens' encounters with the law:

June 2, 1998: Arrested on charges of second-degree assault armed with a deadly weapon and fourth-degree assault. Stevens and a friend engaged in a fight with a 17-year-old, according to the police report. Stevens' friend struck the man with a baseball bat, and witnesses said Stevens stomped on the man's face after he fell, according to the police report. Stevens agreed to a charge of misdemeanor assault.

July 10, 1998: Tested positive for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. He was sent to jail five days later. He was sent home Aug. 5.

July 27, 2000: Arrested for investigation of sexual assault.

July 28, 2000: Released from jail after prosecutors determined they wouldn't be able to charge Stevens in the 72-hour window of his arrest. He was never charged in the incident.

May 4, 2001: Cited for reckless driving and hit-and-run after crashing into a concrete apartment building in Northgate, an informal district of neighborhoods in north urban Seattle, on May 3 while a 93-year-old woman was sleeping.

June 1, 2001: Pleaded guilty to hit-and-run causing property damage, a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to 240 hours of community service. A 90-day jail sentence and $1,000 fine were suspended.

April 3, 2003: Stopped by Medina, Wash., police after rolling through a stop sign in a residential neighborhood. Two open bottles of champagne were seen on the car floor in front of the passenger's seat. Stevens was charged with driving while intoxicated.

June 10, 2003: Pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of reckless driving.

June 12, 2003: Sentenced to five days in jail for violating probation on the 2001 charge of hit-and-run property damage.

June 23, 2003: Sentenced to two days in jail for the reckless driving charge, fined $1,000 and ordered to perform 25 hours of community service, picking up trash. The judge disclosed the breath-test results, which measured Stevens' blood-alcohol concentration at 0.14 percent and 0.17 percent.

March 13, 2007: Arrested in Arizona and charged with driving while intoxicated and possession of marijuana.

Source: The Seattle Times