In a twist that could scuttle a proposed trade to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, veteran quarterback Jake Plummer told friends and business associates Friday afternoon that he plans to retire from football rather than continue his NFL career in another city.
ake Plummer
Plummer
ESPN.com reported Friday morning that the Denver Broncos had reached agreement in principle on most of the elements of a trade that would send Plummer to the Bucs, where he would compete with Chris Simms for the starting job.
But only a few hours later, it appeared Plummer was ready to carry through on retirement suggestions he made earlier in the offseason, when it first became apparent the Broncos were shopping him in trade talks.
A source in the Tampa Bay organization said Friday afternoon the deal to acquire Plummer is "on hold ... at best." The source indicated that there were ongoing discussions aimed at convincing Plummer to accept the trade and play in 2007, but that the veteran passer was prepared to walk away from the game.
Under the terms discussed, the Broncos would have received a middle-round draft choice, believed to be a fourth-rounder, in exchange for Plummer. The trade was expected to be announced on Friday, provided all the major details were completed.
But that was before Plummer, scheduled to earn a base salary of $5.3 million for the 2007 season, wavered.
Tampa Bay re-signed Simms to a two-year contract earlier this offseason. But with Simms coming off a 2006 season in which he underwent an emergency splenectomy, the Bucs have been shopping for a veteran quarterback to bolster the depth chart.
Veteran backup Tim Rattay became an unrestricted free agent on Friday and was not expected to return to Tampa Bay.
Plummer, 32, lost his starting job in Denver to rookie Jay Cutler late last season and the Broncos have been entertaining trade offers in the offseason. A 10-year veteran, Plummer has started 136 games in stints with Arizona (1997-2002) and Denver (2003-2006). He has completed 2,484 of 4,350 passes for 29,253 yards, with 161 touchdown passes and 161 interceptions, for a passer rating of 74.6.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2785459
The Bucs want Jake Plummer, but the feeling isn't mutual.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a deal to acquire the quarterback from Denver on Friday for a fourth-round draft pick in this year's draft.
But according to a league source, Plummer has decided to retire, nullifying the deal that would have sent him to Tampa Bay. Plummer apparently was not interested in joining a team which would not name him to an immediate starting spot, which the Buccaneers refused to do.
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Plummer would have had to battle returning starter Chris Simms for the starting job in Tampa Bay. The deal also could have opened the door for an AFC West battle between the Broncos and Oakland Raiders for the rights to free agent signal caller Jeff Garcia, who has received initial interest from both teams.
Plummer lost his job in Denver last season to rookie Jay Cutler after playing inconsistently over the first half of the season. Plummer also fell out of favor with the Broncos during the playoffs in the 2005 season after a poor performance in the AFC championship game against Pittsburgh.
The 32-year-old Plummer finished last season with 11 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 11 starts. Plummer played well in the previous three seasons, throwing 60 touchdowns and 34 interceptions in that span.
Plummer seemed to lose his confidence as last season progressed. After losing his starting job, Plummer was upset with how Denver coach Mike Shanahan dealt with the change. Plummer was particularly angry that he received a phone call from his position coach to inform him of the change rather than hearing directly from Shanahan.
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