Tampa Bay quarterback Luke McCown will have knee surgery this week, leaving the Buccaneers in the market for another backup for Chris Simms.
McCown partially tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while scrambling out of the pocket during a workout June 15. He will have surgery in the next couple of days, coach Jon Gruden said Tuesday.
Although Gruden would not speculate on how long the third-year pro will be out, he conceded McCown could start the season on the physically unable to perform list – a move that would leave the door open for a possible return this year.
In the meantime, the Bucs will explore the prospect of bringing in a veteran into training camp next month to compete with Tim Rattay, Jared Allen and rookie Bruce Gradkowski for spots behind Simms.
The 24-year-old McCown was obtained from Cleveland in a draft-day trade in 2005. As a rookie with the Browns two years ago, he made four starts and completed 49 per cent of his passes for 608 yards, four touchdowns and seven interceptions.
McCown began last season as the third-stringer behind Brian Griese and Chris Simms. He moved up to No. 2 when Griese suffered a season-ending knee injury and Simms took over the starting job and led Tampa Bay to its first playoff berth in three years.
While McCown described himself as a quick healer and said he expects to be back on the field “sooner rather than later,” Gruden will consider options.
“We’re not going to just bring anybody in because he has experience. We’re looking for somebody out there who has good experience who can come in and play well and help us,” the coach said.
“But if we don’t, we have a young quarterback in Chris Simms who needs a lot of work, and Bruce Gradkowski needs a lot of work and Tim Rattay needs a lot of work. Jared Allen had a good stint over there in the World League. If we bring a guy in, we’re going to bring a guy in with a purpose.”
McCown said he was injured when he scrambled to his right and planted his foot to make a cut to head upfield.
“I felt the pain and went down,” McCown said. “It’s a cut I’ve probably made a thousand times.”
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