When the New England Patriots shipped Jeff Demps to the Buccaneers as part of a trade for LeGarrette Blount, Tampa hoped the U.S. Olympic track star would make a contribution of some sort.
So far, no dice.
The former University of Florida running back has yet to join the team because of a bustling track schedule. Demps' agent, Daniel Rose, confirmed last month that Demps would participate in the IAAF World Championships, which ended Aug. 18 in Moscow, before making his way back to Tampa.
Rose also said the Bucs were "supportive of him running track and doing both sports," but coach Greg Schiano on Tuesday sounded like a man running short on patience.
"I'm not, ah -- supposedly he's coming. I don't know. We'll see," Schiano said, per JoeBucsFan.com.
The Blount deal also included a seventh-round draft pick, and Bucs general manager Mark Dominik said in April that Demps was simply a player they wanted to investigate further. Still, football doesn't appear to be a priority, and that's what Schiano prizes in his players.
"I don't worry about guys that are not here, you know? So he's not helping us get better right now," Schiano said. "He's out there running track somewhere. So, if he's going to do that -- if he gets here and helps us win, he will be part of it. If he gets here and can't help us win, he can go back and run track. We are here to win games."
Demps barely stepped on the Patriots practice field last August before being placed on injured reserve with a leg injury. One year later, Demps isn't even in the building for the Bucs, and Schiano isn't holding his breath.
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