Josh McCown Deciding Between Bears And Buccaneers?

Update:

Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle mentions that “many believe” Josh McCown is deciding between the Bears and the Buccaneers.

• Tafur notes that the Raiders are interested in McCown, but are prioritizing QB Matt Schaub and thus waiting to see what Houston does with him.

The Bears recently re-signed QB Jordan Palmer, but it would not be a surprise if they wanted a more proven backup to QB Jay Cutler.  McCown would likely compete for the starting quarterback job in Tampa Bay.

We have McCown listed as the No. 67 player in our Top 100 Free Agents list.

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Bears’ free agent QB Josh McCown mentioned during an ESPN interview Monday morning that he has spoken to four teams, per Mike Freeman.

“If I leave Chicago, that’s the opportunity (to be a starter) that I’m looking for,” said McCown, per Jeff Dickerson.

• Dickerson adds that the four teams believed to have interest in McCown include the Bears, Buccaneers, Jets and Texans.

Last year, McCown completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 1,829 yards to go along with 13 touchdowns and just a single interception.

We have McCown listed as the No. 67 player in our Top 100 Free Agents list.

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According to Dan Pompei of the Bleacher Report, “it’s starting to look more like Josh McCown will not be returning to Chicago.”

• Pompei mentions that a decent market is already forming for the backup quarterback who could be in line for “high-end backup compensation” and more playing time.
• Pompei specifically mentions that the Buccaneers, Jets and Vikings could all be in play for McCown in the coming weeks.
• Ian Rapoport also mentioned that it appeared as though McCown could re-sign with the Bears, but Chicago reportedly hasn’t seemed committed to the idea.
  • Rapoport also mentions the Buccaneers and Jets as teams to watch.

McCown recently made it clear that he would like to re-sign with the Bears in the coming weeks, but he added that he’s “willing to go somewhere else, if that’s how it breaks.”

“It’s hard to want to be anywhere else,” McCown said.  “But the balance of that, too, is our reality. This is probably going to be the last time I stand in free agency with this kind of leverage. So there’s an understanding of an opportunity here to gain some more resources both to take care of our family and to do more good with.”