Plummer, Bucs play game of chicken

By Chris Cluff  |   Thursday, July 12, 2007  |  Comments( 4 )

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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Even though Jake Plummer has stated his intention to retire ever since Tampa Bay acquired the quarterback from the Denver Broncos earlier this year, the Buccaneers are still holding his roster spot and expecting him to play for them this year. And it looks as if this game of chicken will go down to the wire, when training camp begins.

"We traded for him with the intent of him playing for the Buccaneers," Bucs general manager Bruce Allen recently told reporters. "He knows that, and we've been very clear what we see for him and his future. We'll just have to see if we have a meeting of the minds."

So far, Plummer's mind seems made up not to report to a Tampa Bay team that has six quarterbacks on the roster, including new nominal starter Jeff Garcia and holdovers Chris Simms, Bruce Gradkowski and Luke McCown. Word was Plummer was hoping to end up in Houston, but the Texans traded for Matt Schaub instead.

Because he has yet to submit his retirement papers to the league, some think Plummer might sit out this season and return in 2008, when a few other starting gigs could open up. But he still would have to be traded by the Bucs to another team because he is under contract for three more seasons (he is due $5.3 million in 2007).

So far, the Bucs don't seem inclined to deal away the quarterback they just traded for.

"The intent is the absolute same," Allen said. "We want him on our team."

Allen recently spoke to Plummer and seems to think the 32-year-old will show up when training camp begins July 27. But if he does not report, the team seems prepared to force him to repay $7 million in prorated signing bonus that was paid by the Broncos.

"You can't unilaterally retire as a player in the NFL because you have a contract," Allen said. "He is under the same obligations as every player on the team."

Allen hinted that Plummer would be treated the same way that Keenan McCardell was when he did not report to camp in 2004. The team was able to force the receiver to repay $1.5 million of his bonus after the Bucs traded him to San Diego.

For now, the Buccaneers apparently plan to hold a roster spot for Plummer at least until training camp begins. If the quarterback reports and makes the team, the Bucs will owe Denver a fourth-round pick in the 2008 draft. If he does not, Tampa will owe a seventh-rounder.

As coach Jon Gruden recently told Tampa Bay reporters: "We're talkin' about Jake Plummer here. We've got a roster spot for the Snake for a little while longer. If it was Jake Jones, or Jake Johnson or Jake Gruden, we'd probably bypass the holding pattern that we're in right now. This is one hell of a football player that has accomplished a great deal."
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About Chris Cluff

Chris Cluff spent 10 years as an editor and sportswriter for The Seattle Times. He was a key figure in the newspaper's coverage of the Seahawks, particularly during their Super Bowl run in 2005. He also has written two books on the Seahawks: "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Heart-Pounding,...
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CommentsComments: 4  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Jennifer		12:36 PM
07/12/2007
Regardless of how good a player everything thinks Plummer is, he is an immature cry baby. He is not even worth the words on the...
No.2
jake		01:52 PM
07/12/2007
Respectable? You obviously have a short memory with regards to Plummer. Perhaps you don't remember the the SI cover story about...
No.3
S&Bpoet		11:50 PM
07/14/2007
Thank god the Buc's and Jon Gruden and Bruce Allens ego's took Plumber off of the market. I think he would be in a Raider...
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