Lovie Smith calls Mike Glennon Bucs’ QB of the future

When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Josh McCown over the offseason, new head coach Lovie Smith said immediately that McCown was the team’s starting quarterback. That came as a surprise to many people because Mike Glennon played fairly well for the Bucs as a rookie last season. But despite bringing in McCown and planning to role with the veteran backup as his starter this season, Smith is now calling Glennon the team’s quarterback of the future.

Lovie made his remarks Thursday night when discussing the team’s decision to pass on Johnny Manziel — and any other quarterback in the first round — for receiver Mike Evans.

“Just talking about our quarterback position, our quarterback position is as strong as any quarterback position I’ve had when I’ve been a head coach,” said Smith, whose Bears teams were mostly led by the likes of Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton. “You know how much I like Josh McCown as our starter. I love Mike Glennon. Mike Glennon is our quarterback of the future here. So why would you want to add a third quarterback to the mix? We needed other positions. Forget just the quarterback position, we thought this was the best available player for us. It was an easy decision for us.”

Well that certainly is interesting. If Smith really believed in Glennon as the team’s quarterback of the future, would he really bring in McCown and name him the starter? His words don’t really match his actions on this one, though the team’s draft strategy seemed to. The Bucs didn’t take a quarterback, but they took offensive players with all six picks, including a wide receiver and tight end in the first two rounds. They must believe they have a quarterback already, because they’re obviously trying to give them playmakers.