Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Brian Griese agree to restructured contract

By Hugo Guzman  |   Monday, February 28, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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TAMPA, Florida - Brian Griese agreed to restructure his contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, helping the team alleviate its salary-cap problems. The Tampa Tribune and St. Petersburg Times reported the quarterback's deal is worth $32 million over five years. "There is a long-term agreement, and it will be signed in the next few days," team spokesman Jeff Kamis said.

Griese earned $900,000 last season, when he took over for Chris Simms after the second-year quarterback was injured during his first pro start. Simms had replaced Brad Johnson after the Bucs lost their first four games. Griese started 10 games and completed an NFL-best 69.3 percent of his passes for 2,632 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also had a propensity for making game-altering mistakes, including four interceptions that were returned for TDs.

However, the former Denver and Miami starter was in jeopardy of not returning because he was due a $6 million roster bonus on March 2. Redoing his contract will save the team more than $4 million under the salary cap. The release of Brad Johnson could create another $4.5 million in cap space. General manager Bruce Allen has said the team is about $17 million over.

Although coach Jon Gruden has said there will be open competition for the starting job in training camp, the financial commitment to Griese would seem to give him the edge over Simms, who's still regarded the club's quarterback of the future.
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About Hugo Guzman

Co-founder of RealFootball365.com. Born in Argentina, of Dominican descent, living in Hoboken, but from Miami through and ...
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