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QBs McCown, Leftwich open competition to be Bucs' starter

Tribune file photo by JAY CONNER

Since coming to the Bucs in a draft-day trade in 2005, McCown has played in seven games, starting three.

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By ROY CUMMINGS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 12, 2009

Updated: 05/12/2009 11:47 pm

TAMPA - Just like Josh Freeman with the Bucs, Luke McCown once was someone's quarterback of the future. That's why McCown intends to fight like there's no tomorrow for the job that is supposed to eventually go to Freeman.

"When I was drafted by Cleveland in 2004 they told me I was going to sit for two years and then I was going to be the guy," McCown said Tuesday after the Bucs' first Organized Team Activity. "So I started in four games as a rookie that year and then got traded.

"That taught me that plans are just that. They're plans. And all you can do is focus on the opportunities you have today, which is what I'm doing. I'm doing my darnedest to make sure nobody else plays my position this year."

If someone else plays quarterback for the Bucs this year, it probably won't be Freeman. The plan is for the 2009 first-round draft pick to watch for a year and take over the offense, perhaps, in 2010.

A plan like that probably wouldn't sit too well with a lot of quarterbacks, but McCown is fine with it, largely because he knew this scenario was likely when he opted to re-sign with the Bucs two months ago. First-year coach Raheem Morris told him so.

"When I signed my contract, he took me to his office, showed me the depth chart and said, 'We've got the 19th pick in the draft and all the experts say we're going to draft a quarterback," McCown said.

"So I anticipated that. And you know, that's what I love about Raheem. He shoots you straight. He's going to tell you what's going on. I mean, you can't do anything but respect him for that."

McCown, 27, also respects the fact the Bucs added a veteran free agent with starting experience to compete for the starting job. If Byron Leftwich is to win that job, though, McCown says he won't go down without a fight.

"I look at it like this is my job and you're going to have to shoot me to take it away from me," said McCown, who is being afforded his first real chance to start at the NFL level.

Since coming to the Bucs in a draft-day trade in 2005, McCown has played in seven games, starting three. What he has now, he says, is the chance he has always wanted to prove he is a starting-caliber player.

Leftwich, 29, is looking to prove the same. Though he was Jacksonville's starter his first four years in the league, the former first-round pick has been relegated to backup duty the past two years with Atlanta and Pittsburgh.

And like McCown, Leftwich signed with the Bucs knowing a decision to draft Freeman to be the quarterback of the future was likely. Still, the opportunity he saw for himself was too much to pass on, he said.

"All you can ask for as a player is to have an opportunity to play if you prove you're better than everybody else," Leftwich said. "Once I realized I had that opportunity here, I had to jump on it.

"I mean, the toughest thing in the world is to be in a situation where no matter what you do, you don't have a chance to get out on that field. They assured me there would be a true competition here."

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