Garcia asked Oakland not to draft a QB; Plummer headed to Oakland?

[124]

GARCIA ASKED RAIDERS NOT TO DRAFT QUARTERBACK

We threw it out there last night as a possible explanation for the impasse between the Raiders and free-agent quarterback Jeff Garcia. And we've now learned that, for a change, our closed-eyed wing-and-a-pray guess was on the mark.

We're told that quarterback Jeff Garcia didn't sign with the Raiders for one reason and one reason only -- the team would not give him an assurance that a quarterback would not be selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft.

It's really not an unreasonable request. Who would ever want to be the lame duck starting quarterback? If the Raiders were to struggle to start the season, the denizens of the Black Hole soon would have been chanting for the other guy.

It's also our understanding that the money in Oakland was equal to the money that Garcia is getting from the Bucs. We're told that Garcia will make $5 million in 2007, and that the total value over two years could be as much as $14.5 million, based on Garcia being the starter and the team making the playoffs.

For now, though, it's an open competition between Simms and Garcia, especially since the base value of their deals is identical. Indeed, we're told that Garcia has not been promised the starting job.

Of course, if he ends up being starter, his situation won't be much different in Tampa than it would have been in Oakland. The backup quarterback (as Garcia learned in Philly) is often the most popular guy in town.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

BUCS TO SHIP PLUMMER TO RAIDERS?

There's speculation in league circles that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will eventually trade quarterback Jake Plummer to the Oakland Raiders.

The thinking is that the Raiders are interested in acquiring Plummer as a short-term starter while expected No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell gets ready to play, but that there's no way that the Raiders and Broncos ever could have done business together.

Enter the Bucs, who could end up being the straw man for a deal that puts Plummer in silver and black.

Stay tuned.

[JETSFAN5180]

You mean trade the rights to Plummer he supposedly retired.