Should we be worried about Donald Penn? History says no; but..

To many the Bucs appear to be on the side of frugality with thier refusal to offer long term deals to Barrett Ruud, Cadillac Williams and Donald Penn. However, when you take each player seperately, the strategy appears a little more sound. For Cadillac Williams, the Bucs would like to see more than just one full season without a major injury the first since 2006. Barrett Ruud leads the team in tackles; as well as tackles after ten yards down field. But Ruud is a quiet man, not really a vocal person, and the Bucs would love to have their middle linebacker be a leader on the defense like Hardy Nickerson was. But this piece isnt about Cadillac or Ruud. Its about Penn, and the Bucs putting Penn to work, and Pen to paper for the Left Tackle so he can protect Josh Freeman’s blind side for many years to come. One of the Bucs chief frustrations with Penn was his playing size; he reported after a brief holdout very heavy and out of playing shape. Penn was 365 pounds last year, but despite the ‘handicap’, he did well against some of the best defensive ends in the business like Jared Allen, Osi Umenyiora, Julius Peppers ad Dallas’ DeMarcus Ware among others for the last few years. But now, Penn is reportedly down 40 pounds working twice per day with personal trainers and a dietitian out at his home in California,  in the best shape of his playing career. The question now is wether or not Penn will show up at the mandatory mini-camps; last year he missed most of the OTAs but DID show up for the mandatory mini. Players who miss mandatory practices are subject to fines from the team. Looking back, long time Buccaneer great Paul Gruber was considered as good as gone during the 1993 season when he held out of everything, and did not report on day one of pre or regular season. Word was he was finished with Tampa Bay, and that he was out in Los Angeles talking with the Raiders. Six games later, Paul Gruber was in a Bucs uniform, and the Bucs were paying him exactly what he was asking at the very beginning. By taking their time, the Bucs have already lost out on a few million a year, and if Penn excels this year as everyone expects him to, he is going to cost the Bucs even more. Is it the return of Culverhouse-nomics? Or are the Bucs just looking out for numero Uno, instead of # Seventy?