Tampa Bay Buccaneers trade quarterback Luke McCown to the Jacksonville Jaguars and cut kicker Matt Bryant and several others

TAMPA — Luke McCown's two touchdown passes at Jacksonville three weeks ago didn't help him earn the Bucs' starting quarterback job.

But he did win over the Jaguars, who traded an undisclosed 2010 draft pick to the Bucs on Saturday night in exchange for the 28-year-old quarterback.

Terms of the deal, contingent on McCown passing a physical, were not released. But the Bucs are expected to receive a conditional sixth-round pick that becomes a fifth-rounder based on McCown's playing time.

He will be the Jaguars' No. 2 quarterback behind starter David Garrard.

Meanwhile, kicker Matt Bryant was among 21 players cut by the Bucs, enabling them to trim the roster to one below the 53-player limit. The McCown trade leaves them with 51 players.

Safety Tanard Jackson will begin serving a four-game suspension for violating the league's drug-testing policy and not count against the roster.

McCown, who played in seven games for the Bucs and went 1-3 as a starter, was told by coach Raheem Morris in January that he would be given every opportunity to compete for the starting job. He decided to forgo free agency, signing a two-year, $7.5 million deal that included a $2.5 million signing bonus.

But he lost a battle with free agent Byron Leftwich.

The Bucs had kept all four quarterbacks when they trimmed their roster by 6 p.m. Several hours later, it became apparent why.

By trading McCown, the Bucs can accelerate the development of first-round pick Josh Freeman, who will be the team's No. 2 quarterback.

Second-year pro Josh Johnson, who played well in Friday's 27-20 preseason loss to Houston, will serve as No. 3.

Instead of running the scout squad, Freeman will be able to take a few reps with the starting offense in practice each week and prepare knowing he is a heartbeat away from entering the game.

As for Bryant, 34, he was unable to kick in any preseason games after injuring his right hamstring in training camp nearly four weeks ago. He was summoned to One Buc Place on Saturday and told his four-year career with Tampa Bay was over.

Mike Nugent, 27, made 6 of 9 field goals in the preseason and won the job by default.

"It's not really about Mike Nugent," Morris said after the loss to Houston. "Mike Nugent is the only kicker kicking. He's gone out there and kicked."

More moves are expected in the next few days as the Bucs plan to sign three to four players cut by other teams.

Among the highlights to the Bucs' roster decisions:

• They kept four quarterbacks — before the McCown trade — for the third year in a row, retaining Johnson because of his ability.

"We want to keep the best 53, and Josh went out again and proved he could move the football, and when he's out there he can be productive and he can learn and he can go without a whole bunch of reps," Morris said.

• The roster has eight rookies, including five 2009 draft picks. The exception is tackle Xavier Fulton, who was placed on injured reserve after tearing his ACL in Friday's game.

• They kept five receivers: Antonio Bryant, Michael Clayton, Maurice Stovall, Brian Clark and seventh-round pick Sammie Stroughter.

• Since the zone blocking scheme is mostly a one-back set, they kept four tailbacks and one fullback: B.J. Askew.

• There are 15 new players on the roster that were not with the team in 2008, not many for a club retooling under a new coach and general manager. The list includes seven veterans: punter Dirk Johnson, guard Marcus Johnson, linebacker Niko Koutouvides, running back Derrick Ward, tight end Kellen Winslow, Leftwich and Nugent.

Bryant was one of the league's most inspirational players, kicking a winning field goal against Green Bay last year, one day after burying his 3½-month-old son, Tryson.

He is coming off his best season as a pro in which he set a club record with 131 points. Bryant connected on 32 of 38 field goal tries, the second most in the NFL and tied for the most in club history.

But last week, Bryant showed his frustration over the situation by lashing out at general manager Mark Dominik, Morris and Nugent during an interview on a local radio station. He later apologized to Nugent.

"There's a lot of things that have happened that have been very disappointing," Bryant said last week. "It's hard to do. You can't control it. Still the hardest part in my everyday life is dealing with Tryson. That's been the roughest part. And with this, it was disappointing what happened here. A little bit confusing to a lot of people, everybody trying to grasp why."