Bucs Trade for Plummer, Sign Garcia From Associated Press March 03, 2007 4:47 PM EST TAMPA, Fla. - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed free-agent quarterback Jeff Garcia and potentially nabbed even more competition for incumbent starter Chris Simms by obtaining the rights to Jake Plummer from Denver on Saturday. Garcia, a three-time Pro Bowl selection who nearly signed with the Bucs as a free agent in 2004, agreed to a two-year deal he hopes will give him a chance to finally get to the Super Bowl. A championship is missing from Plummer's resume, too, but its unclear if it remains a personal goal because the 32-year-old is said to be considering retirement after losing his starting job with the Broncos last season. Stepping away from the game couldn't be farther from the 37-year-old Garcia's mind. "Throw age out the window because that's not how I play. That's not how I focus. That's not how I mentally prepare. That's not who I am," Garcia said during a news conference. "I'm somebody who is excited about this opportunity, who's excited to be around the guys and bring a good mix of leadership and drive and will and perseverance - all those things you need in order to turn the corner and get back that winning feeling, that winning tradition." The Bucs won the Super Bowl four seasons ago, but have had losing records and missed the playoffs three of the past four years. A tight salary-cap situation has prevented the Bucs from being real players in free agency since coach Jon Gruden took over in 2002. However, the team began this year's signing period with about $25 million in space. General manager Bruce Allen acknowledged the Bucs traded a conditional pick in the 2008 draft for Plummer, even though they were aware the quarterback is thinking about not playing again. Plummer, who has three years left on his contract and is due $5.3 million in 2007, led Denver to the AFC Championship Game two seasons ago but was benched after 11 games last season for rookie Jay Cutler. His .722 winning percentage with the Broncos from 2003-06 is the fourth-best in the NFL behind Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger. While Allen said he expects Plummer to play again, he would not speculate on whether it would be with Tampa Bay. The GM also said the Bucs did not acquire the quarterback's rights with the idea of trading him. "I think right now, he's just taking time to think about it, which is fine," Allen said, adding it's not uncommon for players ponder or even announce their retirement before changing their minds. Garcia, who last year led Philadelphia to the playoffs filling in for the injured Donovan McNabb, agreed to terms a day after talking with the Oakland Raiders. The Bucs pursued him in free agency three years ago but were unable to match a more lucrative deal Garcia signed with the Cleveland Browns. "I'm happy for him," McNabb, who watched Garcia win five of six starts to help the Eagles win the NFC East, said during the Syracuse-Villanova This just in ... this REALLY complicates things for the Texans. Any ideas on what Smitty should do next?
So THIS is why we couldn't grab either of 'em... Bucs acquire QBs Garcia, Plummer, who plans to retire By Len Pasquarelli ESPN.com Just one day after Jake Plummer said he would retire rather than relocate in a trade, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers recovered, reaching an agreement with unrestricted free agent Jeff Garcia on a deal that could allow the veteran to again challenge for a starting job in the league. It proved to be a good move, as Plummer formally announced Saturday night on his foundation's Web site that he was retiring. Jeff Garcia Doug Benc/Getty Images Jeff Garcia had been in talks with the Raiders. But when the Bucs' efforts to land Jake Plummer apparently fell through, Garcia called an audible. "Football has been awesome to me in many ways. I leave the game with my health and happiness, and look forward to the future,'' he said on the Web site. Garcia quickly became the Bucs' primary target on Friday after Plummer, who has played the past four seasons in Denver but lost his job to rookie Jay Cutler last year, decided that he did not want to join the Bucs. Tampa Bay would have surrendered a fourth-round draft pick to the Broncos under terms of the preliminary trade agreement. Tampa Bay officials, including coach Jon Gruden, attempted on Friday to persuade Plummer to reconsider and accept the trade, but he held firm. So the Bucs, convinced that they could not resurrect the deal for Plummer and still seeking a veteran quarterback to compete with Chris Simms for the starting job, turned their attentions to Garcia. While terms of the contract were not yet available, Garcia's two-year contract will pay him about $5 million a year, according to ESPN.com's John Clayton, The opportunity in Tampa Bay is a good one for Garcia because of Gruden's feelings for him, and the fact the Bucs are not yet ready to hand Simms the No. 1 job. Simms is coming off a season in which he underwent a splenectomy, missed much of the campaign and has been forced to spend months in rehabilitation. Plus, Gruden is a coach who simply loves to collect quarterbacks and always feels that his depth chart is never stocked well enough. Garcia has played in the past in offenses that are similar to the design Gruden uses, so the fit should be a solid one for all parties involved. Stepping away from the game couldn't be further from the 37-year-old Garcia's mind. "Throw age out the window because that's not how I play. That's not how I focus. That's not how I mentally prepare. That's not who I am," Garcia said during a news conference. "I'm somebody who is excited about this opportunity, who's excited to be around the guys and bring a good mix of leadership and drive and will and perseverance -- all those things you need in order to turn the corner and get back that winning feeling, that winning tradition." Garcia also was sought by several other teams, including Denver and the Oakland Raiders. Meanwhile, general manager Bruce Allen acknowledged the Bucs did end up trading a conditional pick in the 2008 draft for Plummer, even though they were aware the quarterback was thinking about not playing again. Part of the rationale in completing the Plummer deal, after it had fallen apart, was that Denver coach Mike Shanahan did not want the quarterback to un-retire in a few months and attempt to sign with another team. League sources had speculated that the Broncos suspected Plummer might attempt to join the Houston Texans, where former Denver offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak is the head coach. By trading Plummer's rights to the Bucs, even for a conditional draft choice, the Broncos forced his hand. If Plummer changes his mind and decides to play in 2007, he can not sign anywhere he wants, because Tampa Bay now technically has been assigned his existing contract. The only potential risk for the Bucs is that, if Plummer does decide to play, Tampa Bay becomes responsible for his 2007 base salary of $5.3 million. Last week, the Philadelphia Eagles closed the door on Garcia's return there when they signed A.J. Feeley to a three-year contract extension. The move was somewhat surprising, given that Garcia posted a 5-1 record and led the Eagles to a playoff berth after replacing the injured Donovan McNabb. "I'm happy for him," McNabb said. "I think it will be a good fit. I think he'll be fine." Under the right circumstances, Philadelphia probably would have welcomed Garcia back for another season, but only on its conditions and on its timetable. His reluctance to re-sign with the Eagles before the outset of free agency solidified the desires of some within the organization to pursue Feeley instead, and to essentially make him the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart. All along, though, Garcia and agent Steve Baker knew they would have alternatives beyond the Eagles, and the Plummer situation simply created another option for them. "Jeff feels he has multiple good options, but the opportunity to play for Jon Gruden in Tampa is something that really excites him," Baker said on Friday afternoon. "Jon is a coach who Jeff believes has the ability to bring out the best in him. In fact, he feels that by playing for Jon, he has a very good chance of duplicating the success he had with the Eagles in Philadelphia last year." A three-time Pro Bowl performer, but a quarterback nomad since 2003, his final season with the San Francisco 49ers, Garcia is joining his fourth different franchise in four seasons. In 99 games, including 92 starts, Garcia has completed 1,811 of 2,972 passes for 20,385 yards, with 136 touchdown passes and 73 interceptions, for an efficiency rating of 86.4. He has thrown for more than 2,500 yards five times in his career. Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. ESPN.com senior writer John Clayton and The Associated Press contributed to this report. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2786694 Go Philly! Whoo!
i've been saying it all along, but if we're looking for a vet to take the snaps for one year, i'd rather watch bledsoe than any of these guys. we ain't winning the superbowl this year, and, as poor as his decision making is, at least he lets it rip and airs it out. i just want to see some entertaining offense this year at the least. i have said that ANYBODY is an upgrade over carr, but plummer is pretty much the smallest upgrade out there. he's garbage. let's get a live arm out there. bledsoe/rosenfels/kolb is my ideal threesome going into this season.
Kubiak's offense requires a QB that is comfortable rolling out to throw the ball. I don't think I've ever seen Bledsoe perform a roll out in my life, he has always been a pure pocket passer.
OH HELL NO !!! If you thought Carr got sacked a lot, just watch Mr. hold the ball till forever Bledsoe !! Need someone that can move ! DD
Bledsoe? Mr "My feet are constantly in cement" Bledsoe? He's upgrade over Plummer? Whatever you're smoking dude, please share because this hallucination is truely a hilarious one in one aspect and a recipe for disaster in another aspect. I'd let Sage start before taking Bledsoe. That dog won't hunt with our OL. LOL!
The sad thing is, Bledsoe could still be a valuable player on a team w/a stellar O line. In fact, I'd wager he could still be borderline-pro bowl on such a team. On the Texans? He'd be a sitting duck.
I don't know about this. Bledsoe needs a LOT of time to set his feet and throw but even with a good offensive line that's not always going to happen , and he's rather easily confused. I think the book is sort of written on Bledsoe. Apply pressure and disguise coverages and he's toast.
Bledsoe couldn't find enough time to throw if he were playing the Mongols from behind the Great Wall. It looks like Tampa is cornering the market on quarterbacks to make sure that Oakland has to draft Russell and pass on Calvin Johnson , so he falls to Tampa. This is a plot worthy of John le Carre. Here's the post from over at HPF: http://www.houstonprofootball.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=95511#post95511 Bob HPF Staff PFT is adding that the Garcia/Plummer deals are intended to take both QBs off the market to force the hand of the Raiders! Keep in mind that Gruden and Shanahan are both former Raider head coaches with major axes to grind when it comes to Cryptkeeper Al. The thinking is that the Raiders will now be forced to draft JaMarcus Russell which could free up Calvin Johnson to fall to Tampa Bay, assuming Detroit takes Joe Thomas and Cleveland takes Adrian Peterson. Of course, the Raiders could change all this by trading for...David Carr! In fact, I could see a scenario where Carr goes to Oakland for their fourth-round pick (first pick on the second day) and Houston acquires Plummer from Tampa for their own fourth-round pick. Therefore: Oakland gets Carr for a fourth. Houston gets Plummer and moves up in the fourth round. Tampa gets Houston's fourth in 2007 as the broker. Denver gets a conditional fourth or fifth in 2008 from Tampa but they also get out from under Plummer's contract.
And nobody has thought about their romantic relationship in this? HONESTLY. ANYONE can be successful with a stellar offensive line. That star football team from dallas had an excellent offensive line in the 90s. troy aikman was a mediocre QB until he got behind that line. He's along the same lines as Kurt Warner - outside of the system, he is NOTHING. And ANYONE could run behind that line. smith was nothing special; he had talent, but he's NOT the greatest running back of all time. The best QB of the early-to-mid 90s (after Joe Montana, of course) is Randall Cunningham. The Eagles had NO real offensive line and NO crazy superstar receivers (who did coke), and he STILL carried them into the playoffs. It was wonderful to not see my Eagles lose year after year.
Drew freaking Bledsoe are you kidding me, he would be lucky to make it out of the first game alive, Carr's toughness has really got you spoiled if you think Bledsoe could stand up to a quarter of the punishment David Carr takes and gets up from.
Garcia Bledsoe...Oh hell no...Given the history of this line and no ability to run...Garcia and Plummer in Tampa Bay...Crazy... I do like what Dubious said, the scenario that is...Let's see what happens...
