Bucs place QB Simms on IR, activate QB McCown
November 3, 2006
TAMPA, FLORIDA (TICKER) -- Quarterback Chris Simms will not play again this season.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday placed Simms on injured reserve and activated quarterback Luke McCown from the physically-unable-to-perform list.
Simms underwent a splenectomy hours after a 26-24 loss to Carolina on September 24.
Rookie Bruce Gradkowski has taken over as the starter for the Bucs (2-5), who are in last place in the NFC South.
Simms, 26, is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent after the season. He had passed for 585 yards with just one touchdown and seven interceptions in Tampa Bay's first three games - all losses.
The Bucs have split four games with Gradkowski as the starter. A sixth-round pick out of Toledo, Gradkowski has completed 80-of-155 passes for 672 yards and four touchdowns with one interception.
Last season, Simms became the starter when Brian Griese went down with an injury. The lefthander went 6-4 as a starter and helped lead the Bucs to the NFC South Division le, completing 61 percent of his passes for 2,035 yards and 10 touchdowns with seven interceptions.
Simms' father, Phil, was a longtime quarterback for the New York Giants and the MVP of Super Bowl XXI.
McCown had been on the PUP list since August 29 due to a knee injury. He will serve as the third-string quarterback behind Gradkowski and Tim Rattay.
The Bucs acquired McCown, 25, from the Cleveland Browns in April 2005 for a sixth-round pick. He started four games as a rookie with the Browns, completing 48-of-98 passes for 608 yards and four touchdowns with seven interceptions.
McCown did not get into a game last season with the Bucs.
Was this even a question?
Doctors were shocked, when they operated to remove Simms' spleen, to discover that his heart, guts, balls, and spine apparently already had been removed.
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