Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sign Byron Leftwich
Former Steelers Backup QB Free Agent Finally Signs
Apr 12, 2009
Michael Smith of ESPN.com reported that free agent quarterback Byron Leftwich, formerly of the Pittsburgh Steelers, has signed a two year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Steelers had hoped to re-sign Leftwich, who was brought in prior to the 2008 season to be the primary backup to Ben Roethlisberger after Charlie Batch was lost for the season with a broken clavicle.
Quarterback Controversy In The Making?
Many wondered how players like J.T. O'Sullivan and Dan Orlovsky had signed contracts but others such as Jeff Garcia and Byron Leftwich were still available on the open market. It seems that teams are starting to pluck out veteran quarterbacks to come in and create some competition with the Raiders signing Garcia and the Buccaneers bringing in Leftwich.
It might be harder for Garcia to unseat incumbent starter JaMarcus Russell who has been anointed the future in Oakland but with no nonsense head coach Tom Cable in charge and Russell not having played like a number one overall draft pick yet, it might not be too long before we see Garcia given the opportunity to shine.
Everyone thought with the departure of Jon Gruden from Tampa Bay that the days of having multiple quarterbacks on the roster would be over and new head coach Raheem Morris would try and bring stability to the position. But with the team already having quarterbacks Luke McCown, Josh Johnson, and Brian Griese on the team, bringing in Leftwich just adds another arm to the already-crowded situation. However, with none of those players being seen as franchise-type players, Leftwich has a chance to come in and win the starting job, something he would haven never been able to do in Pittsburgh.
Concerns About Leftwich Kept Him A Free Agent
The NFL is all about what have you done for me lately? And Leftwich, a player with slow feet and an even slower release hasn’t done a whole lot in his career so far after being a former top ten pick.
The Jacksonville Jaguars released him because his backup David Garrard was seen as the better option and his short stint with the Atlanta Falcons didn’t do anything to help his stock. But coming in at times for an injured Roethlisberger last season showed that Leftwich had changed some of his mechanics and he focused more on making quick decisions to make up for his slow release.
But teams know that Leftwich has the hunger to win and the courage to play in this league and the image of him at Marshall, being carried by team mates down the field during a college game against Akron in 2002 will never be forgotten. The Buccaneers probably hope that courage and passion is still in Leftwich and that he can come in and help stabilize the quarterback position.
