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Bucs Beat: Time For Simms To Move On

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By ROY CUMMINGS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 4, 2008

TAMPA - Chris Simms no longer conjures the image of a valiant fallen warrior. With his spleen injury now nearly two years into his past, he seems more like a wounded deer aimlessly wandering the woods.

It's gotten to the point where you sort of wish someone would just come along and put the poor thing out of his misery. Finally, mercifully, the Bucs may get around to doing that this week.

There are plans for the Bucs brass to gather early this week at One Buc Place, perhaps as soon as Monday and most likely with Simms' agent on hand, and discuss Simms' future.

For Simms' sake, let's hope the Bucs pull the trigger and move him.

The time for this misery to end has long past. If Bucs coach Jon Gruden really believed in Simms, really liked him as a quarterback and really wanted him to run his offense, it would be a different story. But it's not.

For reasons that aren't completely clear, Gruden has little or no use for Simms. Maybe it's Simms' lack of mobility or the fact he's left-handed, which forces Gruden to flip-flop his offense whenever Simms is in the lineup.

Or maybe it's the fact Gruden was never really on board with the Rich McKay-generated decision to draft Simms. It doesn't matter, really. The facts are the facts, and it's time for the internal squabble about Simms to end.

And yes, it has been an internal squabble that has kept Simms in Tampa and thus in limbo. Do you really think it was Gruden and General Manager Bruce Allen who decided to keep Simms around as an injured fourth quarterback last year?

That call came from above, from a family of owners that seldom gets involved in the on-field management of their team. In this case, though, the Glazers saw Simms as an asset they feared they would take a huge loss on if he was let go.

It was a valid fear. Imagine cutting Simms and then seeing him return to health for the Atlanta Falcons and leading them to a victory that knocked the Bucs out of the playoffs. The Bucs would have had a hard time explaining that one.

As real as that fear was then, it's even more real now. Simms swears he has regained his health and is once again ready to play at a high level. If he's right, the Bucs have a valuable asset on their hands.

The problem is that no one is really sure if Simms is right or not. Simms is so fed up with the situation here, he has spent the offseason working out on his own. As a result, no one with the Bucs has been given a chance to confirm his claim.

The Bucs, then, will go into this week's round of meetings somewhat blind. The result could be an extension of Simms' misery. After all, the Bucs already have passed on at least one chance to move him.

They received several offers of a late-round draft pick for Simms during the draft last week but passed on every one of them. The reason: They're still not sure what Simms' true value is.

Even after two years of inactivity, Simms remains an asset, and the Bucs would rather hold on to that asset than give it away for anything less than its optimum value.

You get the feeling Simms won't be pleased if that's the result. You get the feeling Simms has had enough of the situation here and wishes to move on to a team whose coach really wants him.

It's hard to blame him. But this sport is a business, too, and the business side says the Bucs have to do what's best for them, even if it means extending Simms' misery.

The solution may lie in a compromise, one that consists of a promise from the Bucs to move Simms as soon as possible and a promise from Simms to return to workouts so the Bucs can evaluate him and determine his true value.

With such an agreement in place, the Bucs finally could put Simms out of his misery and move on with a slightly reduced stable of quarterbacks that are all to Gruden's liking.

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