Garcia has 'big lead' at quarterback

By Joanne Korth, Times staff writer
Published June 8, 2007

CLEARWATER - Bucs coach Jon Gruden all but anointed Jeff Garcia the starting quarterback Friday, saying the free-agent veteran has a "big lead" at the position.

"There's not a lot of controversy in my eyes right now, " Gruden said. "If you want to catch up to Jeff Garcia, our young quarterbacks have a lot of work to do.

Gruden's comments came during a question-and-answer session with business people and fans at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast at the Belleview Biltmore Resort. Asked to talk about the team's quarterbacks, Gruden gave the strongest indication yet that Garcia is ahead of fifth-year pro Chris Simms for the starter's job.

"Garcia has done a great job from Day 1, since he's been here, " Gruden said. "He understands the position. He's moved offenses wherever he's been. And right now Jeff Garcia has a big lead, to me, on the quarterback position. He brings a lot of juice and enthusiasm to our offensive team."

Simms played poorly in the first three games of 2006 before his season ended with a ruptured spleen. He is healthy again, but took noticeably fewer repetitions in practice Thursday than Garcia and second-year pro Bruce Gradkowski, who started 11 games last season in Simms' absence before yielding to Tim Rattay.

In December, the team signed Simms to a two-year, $7-million contract that pays $2-million this season, considered "starter's money." In March, the team signed Garcia to much the same deal, a two-year, $7-million contract that could be worth $14.5-million if he becomes the starter.

Simms, 26, and Garcia, 37, were expected to compete in training camp, but it seems Garcia has a sizable lead after resurrecting his career late last season by leading the Eagles to the playoffs in place of injured starter Donovan McNabb.

Simms could not be reached for comment.

After Thursday's workout, Simms attributed his lack of reps to his familiarity with the Bucs' playbook and the need for Garcia and Gradkowski to gain experience. He also admitted he has not yet regained his throwing rhythm after a lengthy recovery from September's emergency surgery to remove his spleen.

"Coach Gruden did tell me, "Hey, I'm not worried about you knowing the offense, just be ready by July, ' " Simms said, referring to the start of training camp in late July.

"I'm not quite where I want to be yet, either, just throwing the ball. I feel fine physically. I can take a hit and run around. But I don't have my rhythm or timing back yet."

Gruden left the door open for competition in training camp, but endorsed Garcia as the front runner.

"I'm not discounting that it (will) be competitive in training camp, " Gruden said Friday. "I do believe Chris Simms and Bruce Gradkowski can make it interesting, and Luke McCown is doing some good things. But Garcia is clearly the leader in the clubhouse right now, and we are excited about that."

The Bucs have a mandatory minicamp June 19-21, the final workouts of the offseason program. Players report to training camp at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex on July 26.

Joanne Korth can be reached at korth@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8810.

[Last modified June 8, 2007, 12:39:27]