http://www.denverpost.com/ci_5350525The Broncos also announced Saturday they were trading the rights to quarterback Jake Plummer to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for a conditional selection in the 2008 draft. Plummer, thus, will officially retire as a Buccaneer.
Contrary to speculation among many media outlets, Plummer is not using retirement as leverage to be traded to another team or situation with greater guarantee of starting.
"Yes, that's it," Marilyn Plummer, Jake's mother, when asked if her son had retired. "I thought this would happen from the moment the season ended. He needs a break but I forsee him doing something else. He's a lot like Pat Tillman. Pat would do something unexpected. Jake used to say, "I wonder what Pat would have done next." Jake is a lot like Pat. He has that same rebel soul."
Tillman, who was Plummer's friend and teammate with the Arizona Cardinals, turned down a $3.6 million contract extension in May, 2002 to enlist in the U.S. Army. He served in Iraq and later Afghanistan, where he was killed April 22, 2004 by friendly fire.
Plummer is retiring from the NFL after 10 seasons even though his contract called for him to receive $5.3 million in 2007. The Bucs aren't counting on Plummer playing as they have already reportedly signed quarterback Jeff Garcia.
Trading a 2008 draft pick indicates the teams believe there's a chance Plummer will sit out a year and decide to play again next year. Either way, Plummer is gone from Denver. He finished his four-year tenure with a 84.3 career passer rating and .722 regular-season winning percentage (39-15) _ numbers that exceeded of those Hall of Famer John Elway.
