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In a matter of a few hours, Jeff Garcia went from a self-proclaimed “dead man walking” to a beaming Buccaneers quarterback with new life pouring through his rejuvenated soul following Tampa’s failure to land Brett Favre last week.
After missing nine straight days of practice with a calf injury — during the peak of the Favre rumors — Garcia was back on the practice field Monday, taking veiled shots at his head coach and general manager, who looks a bit foolish after whiffing on Favre. The day after Favre was dealt to the Jets, Bucs GM Bruce Allen publicly denied he had seriously pursued Favre and then admitted at a do-over press conference a few hours after the denial that he did, in fact, kinda sorta want Favre.
Nicely done.
Seizing on his boss’ flub, Garcia used sarcastic humor to describe the heated situation between himself and management on Monday.
“I’m just a journeyman, according to some people,” he told reporters. “Why should I have any hard feelings? I’m just thankful to have this job. I might pay Bruce and Jon for bringing me back out here. What am I going to say?”
It’s a bit too early to rule on who the winners and losers from the Favre trade are, but Garcia appears to have the best hand in the early stages following the arduous ordeal.
The Bucs might have gained and lost nothing, unlike the Jets and Packers, but they face an unenviable task in smoothing things over with Garcia. The easiest way to calm the tension would be for them to hand over the contract extension Garcia has been pouting about not getting for the last six months or so.
Tampa Bay has plenty of cap room and no clear replacement waiting in the wings should Garcia depart in free agency this winter. Why not throw a few more millions and another year or two his way? It would make sense and be a relatively low-risk deal.
Count me as one who thinks it’s not going to happen, no matter how much sense it makes.
As evidenced by his post-Favre-trade damage control, Allen isn’t a big fan of admitting defeat. After months of playing hardball with Garcia, it’s unlikely Allen would cave now. The timing of it would make the Bucs look even more desperate following the swing-and-miss at Favre. Plus, Garcia is going to turn 39 years of age next February. The Bucs, and just about every other NFL team, avoid investing in players once they get to Garcia’s age, anticipating the inevitable breakdown.
Even if Garcia gets off to a good start through the first half of the 2008 regular season, I don’t see the Bucs rushing to the negotiating table. It’s going to be hard for Garcia to top what he did last year, when he showed brilliant efficiency, throwing 13 TD passes and just four interceptions on his way to a Pro Bowl appearance as a replacement for Favre, who chose to skip the game.
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Jeff Garcia
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The relationship between Garcia and the Bucs has been mutually beneficial, although Gruden and Allen seem to have profited a bit more, receiving contract extensions of their own in the offseason while Garcia remains one of the lowest-paid starting quarterbacks in the league.
Tampa Bay, though, has given Garcia a big stage and a chance to prove he deserves to be a starter in this league, after he had spent the past few seasons signing one-year deals to be a backup. In return, Garcia led the Bucs from worst to first in the NFC South and into the postseason.
Yet, at this point, their differences seem irreconcilable.
If Allen isn’t willing to budge on a contract extension at this point, with Garcia coming off such an impressive year and Favre now out of the picture, I’m not sure he ever will.
The Garcia-Bucs era could go down as one of the greatest two-year flings in league history, especially if Tampa Bay competes for a playoff spot this season. Hey, Jeff, thanks for helping get the franchise back on the right track, we really do appreciate it, but, uh, well, we’re ready to find someone new and, oh yeah, you’re old, so … it’s been fun, but it’s over.
Garcia and the Bucs will go their separate ways after this season. Tampa Bay might decide to offer him a one-year deal this winter, but feeling spurned by the team’s handling of him over the past several months, the prideful Garcia likely will choose to go elsewhere and prove himself all over again, one more time.
I don’t see a happy ending to what could have been a good story. Garcia looks like a winner in the fallout from Favre-gate, but there’ll be no prize coming his way.
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