Tampabay.com
MAY 15, 2007

How many QBs does it take....

We'll spare you the bad light bulb joke you probably thought was coming.

But seriously, the Bucs will have to make a decision on how many quarterbacks to take to training camp. They currently have about 77 of them on the roster. Excuse us, we meant seven.

Either way, it's too many quarterbacks to find reps for in training camp. Heck, they'll even have a hard time finding the reps in OTAs, which resume tomorrow. NFL Europa prospect Bruce Eugene doesn't figure to be a factor, so let's throw him out for the sake of this debate. Then you've Jake Plummer, who is, well, we don't know where the heck he is.

If Plummer never shows up and actually stays retired, as he has vowed to do, that still leaves the team with five quarterbacks, which is probably one too many to take to camp. So, at that point, it boils down to a decision between Luke McCown, who hasn't played in forever; Bruce Gradkowski, who elicits emotions from fans that range from anger to optimism; and newcomer Zac Taylor, the Nebraska standout who arrived after the draft as an undrafted free agent. You can make a strong case for each, but we'd be surprised to see more than two of them make it to July.

Of course, the Nos. 1 and 2 quarterbacks will be Chris Simms and Jeff Garcia, and not necessarily in that particular order. After them, it's a muddled mess that will have to be sorted out during the next six to eight weeks.

You think your head is spinning now? Just wait until Jake Plummer decides to come out of hibernation!

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans: Keep up with your team news on Bucs Beat, our blog for all things Bucs. Tampa Bay Times sports writers keep you posted on the latest Bucs news, and you can weigh in with your own thoughts.

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