Jeff Garcia Says He Can Play, Brian Griese Still Expected to Start

Yesterday, news came out that Brian Griese was running Tampa Bay's first-team offense in practice, and was likely to start Sunday's home opener against Atlanta because of an ankle injury suffered by Jeff Garcia.

Today, it appears that Griese is starting simply because Garcia is being benched. The folks over at Pewter Report (via PFT) have Garcia's comments to the media today where he talks about his ankle, and various other things. These comments stand out.

"The ankle, I'm going to go out and run around today," said Garcia. "I feel like it is heeling up fast. It was one of those things where I just rolled my ankle unfortunately it was stiff on Monday. It got better as the week has progressed. It is at a point now where I feel like if I was the starter I would've been able to practice yesterday and today.

"I've played through a lot worse before and that is not anything new. Everybody in this locker room is going to play through some nicks, some pain, and some sort of injury. That is just the way that this game is and I don't expect anything less. I feel like there are some things that I can definitely play through."

Meanwhile, Mike Florio over at ProFootballTalk reports that the Bucs may be trying to trade Garcia for, "anything they can get," because the veteran quarterback and head coach Jon Gruden are "ready to kill each other."

It's been well documented that Garcia was less than thrilled with the teams flirtation with Brett Favre in the off-season, and now he finds himself on the bench after just one game. And perhaps out the door.

If the reports are true that the Bucs are looking to dump Garcia, and he's actually being benched -- as opposed to being out with an injury -- it must be quite the battle of egos between he and Gruden. Maybe it's just me, but I'd still take Garcia, even at 38, over Griese.