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Garcia Excused For Camp's 1st Weekend

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By ROY CUMMINGS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 23, 2008

TAMPA - Chris Simms no doubt will be the most-watched quarterback at Bucs camp this weekend.

That's because Jeff Garcia won't be there.

Garcia has been granted permission by the Bucs to attend a reunion of the Galivan College team his father coached to the 1973 national junior college championship, and he will miss at least the first two days of camp.

Garcia, who was granted permission several weeks ago, is expected to report to camp Monday. By then, though, the Bucs' quarterback situation could look dramatically different than it does today.

Rumors surfaced Tuesday saying the Bucs were one of the teams the Packers called to gauge trade interest in retired and disgruntled quarterback Brett Favre. Bucs general manager Bruce Allen would neither confirm nor deny the rumors, saying only that he would leave it to the Packers or to Favre to reveal the targets of Green Bay's probe.

"The only people who can really talk to what comes out there are either Green Bay or the player," Allen said. "It really doesn't fit for us to make any comments at all."

Whether Favre is a fit for the Bucs remains to be seen. He's 38, and given his late arrival, he likely would struggle to learn Coach Jon Gruden's playbook in time to make a significant impact this season.

There is also the asking price to consider. The Packers are believed to be seeking at least a second-round pick and/or a player for Favre, who remains undecided about his future.

It's likely, then, that a deal bringing Favre to Tampa Bay will never happen, despite the fact Garcia remains unhappy about the status of his 2008 contract.

Garcia, slated to make $2 million this year, has been seeking an extension that will bring his total payout for the 2008 season to approximately $7 million.

Negotiations have been agonizingly slow, but Garcia has no intentions of skipping camp workouts over the issue and recently told The Tampa Tribune, "I'll see you at camp."

Brian Griese and Luke McCown are expected to battle for the backup job to Garcia, but Allen confirmed a report in Tuesday's Tribune that suggested Simms would be in that mix as well.

"I met with Chris last week and we talked about what we envision will happen,"' Allen said. "The goal right now is to get Chris back on the field. You don't bring a player in and not expect him to compete for a position."

One player who will be at camp but probably won't compete for playing time right away is running back Cadillac Williams (knee). Allen suggested Williams is likely to start camp on the active physically unable to perform list.

A player on that list counts against the team's 80-man roster limit, so the Bucs must cut about four players, according to Allen, to get their roster to the limit by Saturday.

One of those cuts will come as a result of the deal the Bucs reached Tuesday with offensive lineman Jeremy Zuttah, a third-round pick out of Rutgers.

Zuttah became the fourth Bucs draftee to sign. Cornerback Aqib Talib (first round), wide receiver Dexter Jackson (second round) and quarterback Josh Johnson (fifth round) remain unsigned.

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

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