Buccaneers Sign Byron Leftwich

Today it was reported on ESPN.com that Tampa Bay signed QB Byron Leftwich to a two year $7.5 million deal. While it is currently unclear what his role on the team is, one would have to guess that as of now he is not the starter due to the fact that QB Luke McCown will be making $5 million this year with his current contract. But the Bucs would not have made this move if they did not want him to atleast compete for the starting job given that QB Brian Griese is already a solid backup. Given that the Bucs made so many moves in the offseason to upgrade their offense, it seems as if he was signed because they don't have full confidence in McCown and need a quarterback who can immediately get the most out of their investments in WR Antonio Bryant, and TE Kellen Winslow. In the meantime, McCown, and maybe still QB Josh Freeman, will develop while Leftwich has the reigns.

He flashed some skill this season when stepping in for QB Ben Roethlisberger with the Steelers and showed teams that he is still capable of being a successful starting NFL quarterback. Although he did not quite meet expectations in Jacksonville, I still think he has potential to be a solid QB. He has great arm strength and pocket presence but has a very slow delivery. It did not seem to hinder his performance last year though. I really think that the past two years has served as a wake up call and that he will finally be ready to be the quarterback he was drafted to be. He now has two great weapons in Bryant and Winslow and could do some serious damage with them.