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Bucs Can't Afford To Get Rid Of Garcia

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By ROY CUMMINGS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 14, 2008

TAMPA - It's hard to tell which came faster last week - Jon Gruden's hook of one-time starting quarterback Jeff Garcia or the rumors that the suddenly deposed Garcia was on the trading block.

We're going to go with the rumors, because we want to believe that Gruden actually slept on his decision to pull Garcia. That would mean he would have waited two days to make the call, because he never sleeps after a game Sunday.

Besides, it has become the nature of this business that as soon as a quarterback is deemed obsolete by his coach, he is immediately deemed expendable by most everyone else.

That is what happened with Garcia. No sooner was he out as the Bucs' starter than rumors circulated suggesting he would soon be out as a Buc. Trading Garcia seems unlikely, though, largely because the Bucs can't afford to trade him.

It's not that they can't afford to take the salary cap hit that would be associated with such a move. They actually can. What they can't afford to do is put themselves back in a situation where they are leaning on a rookie to run their offense.

They put themselves in that situation a couple of years ago when they let Brian Griese sign with the Bears, and it cost them. It cost them on the field, where they wound up going 4-12, and it nearly cost them elsewhere.

It was after that horrid 2006 season, one in which the Bucs went 3-8 with rookie Bruce Gradkowski running the offense, that Gruden and Bruce Allen wound up on the hot seat.

Both were removed from the hot seat after last year's rebound season, but the curious decision to pull Garcia as the starter after one game already has some raising their eyebrows.

A decision to trade Garcia, the player who probably did more than anyone else to save Gruden's and Allen's jobs, could result in a situation that puts Gruden and Allen right back on the hot seat. A look back at last week tells you why.

In Week 1 games this year, three teams - New England (Tom Brady), Kansas City (Brodie Croyle) and Tennessee (Vince Young) - lost their starting quarterback to injury.

At least two of those teams - Tennessee and New England - spent the early part of last week scouring the league for replacements because they thought they no longer had an adequate backup.

The Bucs could end up doing the same thing if they let Garcia go. As long as Garcia is around, though, the Bucs have a wealth of quarterbacks and they are incredibly well-positioned to withstand almost any kind of hit they take at that position.

With Garcia on board, the Bucs have three quarterbacks who have a good working knowledge of their offensive scheme and have not only won games in this league, but also won them playing for the Bucs.

That kind of depth is almost unheard of, and it means the Bucs could lose their starter (whoever that happens to be at the time) and their top backup and still turn to a quarterback who has run their offense and won.

That won't be the case if Garcia is gone. It would seem to make a lot of sense, then, for the Bucs to hold on to Garcia, even if he has fallen out of favor with his head coach.

Garcia might not like it, but that is what is best for the Bucs. Sure, it's a luxury, but it's a luxury they can afford, and when you think of the alternatives, it's a luxury that - for as long as they're alive in the playoff race - they can't afford to give away.

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