Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Why Signing Josh McCown Was a Bad IdeaBy Daniel Hutchinson August 24, 2014 
Tampa Bay’s first round draft pick from 2009, quarterback Josh Freeman, only played in three games in 2013 before being benched in favor of rookie quarterback Mike Glennon. Freeman would eventually get his walking papers and Glennon would be the team’s starter for the remaining 13 games of the season.Despite the somewhat instability of the Buccaneers team, Glennon managed decent numbers finishing the season with four wins, a completion percentage of 59.4, 2,608 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions. While Glennon looked like a good candidate to compete for the starting job in 2014, many changes were made in the offseason, including the firing of head coach Greg Schiano and general manager Mark Dominik. Enter new head coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jason Licht who signed former Bears quarterback Josh McCown and almost immediately named him the starter. The only problem is that McCown will not be the answer to Tampa Bay’s quarterback problems.The two biggest problems I have with McCown are his age and the fact that his status as Buccaneers’ starting quarterback was determined by one season of work. McCown is 35 years old and is the oldest quarterback the Buccaneers have had on their roster since Jeff Garcia played for the team in 2007 and 2008 at the ages of 37 and 38. The concern that is coupled with McCown’s age is the fact that the quarterback has never completed a full season as the starter. The closest he came was when he started 13 games for the Arizona Cardinals back during the 2004 season. There has to be at least a little bit of concern about whether McCown can stay healthy for a full 16-game schedule. Lastly on a side note, only four quarterbacks aged 35 years or older have won a Super Bowl and the last time it happened was Super Bowl XXXIII, when 38-year-old John Elway led the Broncos to victory.The other problem with McCown is that he was named the starter based on one season of work. The most notable statistic from McCown’s run with the Bears last season is the fact that he threw only one interception. The rest of the stat line reads 3-2 as a starter, 66.5 completion percentage, 1,829 passing yards and 13 touchdowns, which are not bad statistics but are from only eight games played and five games started. In his career as a whole McCown has a 16-22 record as a starter, a 59.4 completion percentage, 8,827 passing yards, 50 touchdown passes, and 45 interceptions. Yes McCown had one good season and played great in five games as a starter but good seasons come and go, and success is also based on the talent surrounding a player.Tampa Bay has made personnel changes in the offseason but the fact is in 2013 Tampa Bay ranked last in total yards, and total passing yards, and 30th in points scored while giving up 47 sacks which was sixth worst in the league. Additionally, McCown is having to figure out how to work with new receivers Vincent Jackson and rookie Mike Evans, who undoubtedly are different than Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery in Chicago. McCown put up some good numbers against the Bills in the team’s third preseason game, completing 13 passes on 16 attempts for 112 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Can McCown manage these stats for two halves a game and for a 16-game season.Tampa Bay has tried with the older quarterback keeping Brad Johnson until he was 36 although he went 7-13 as a starter after the Super Bowl season with Jeff Garcia. Tampa Bay then went tried to play younger quarterbacks with the most notable being Josh Freeman and when that didn’t work out it seems the team is going back to trying the veteran route. I don’t see McCown as giving the team any better chance of winning then if Glennon were the starter. Although there were talks of the team trading Glennon a trade never happened, hopefully because Glennon can be their quarterback of the future. I think that just because the team has a bad taste in their mouth from Freeman does not mean they shouldn’t tried harder with Glennon. Glennon is a different player than Freeman and I think he proved himself last season.Part of the issue probably is the fact that a new head coach and general manager came in and wanted to pick their quarterback and not feel like they were stuck with the quarterback from the old regime. In addition, the Chicago connection between Smith and McCown also probably was a factor. However, Glennon should have gotten his shot at winning the starting job whether McCown was on the roster or not.Tampa Bay has never really had an elite quarterback and don’t look for the trend to be reversed with McCown.link
