Quarterback Jay Cutler has been characterized as immature, a whiner or malcontent because of the manner in which he has reacted to the Broncos attempt to explore trading him.

But Bucs linebacker Niko Koutouvides, who played with Cutler in Denver last season, says that's not the teammate he remembers. 

"From the time I've been around him, I was there one year, he's a confident kid, he's a leader. He made the Pro Bowl last year,'' Koutouvides said.

"He just felt he got disrespected and that's the way they handled it. Maybe some people say he could be handling it better than he is. Maybe, maybe not. That's what he has to deal with. He's the one going through the situation.

"How I know him as a teammate, he's a leader, wanting to win, fiesty, a fighter, likes to take a hit and get back up ready to go.''

Koutouvides said nobody from the Bucs organization has asked him for information on Cutler.