FanHouse ByronLeftwich

Rex Grossman seems nice enough. But the NFL scrap heap is littered with swell guys who couldn't keep their jobs. There are worse fates -- like being David Carr, the former first-overall pick with a ridiculous nickname, who is just passable enough to make the 53-man roster every summer, but will never see the field except for preseason and blowouts -- but it also means that Grossman's NFL days might be behind him.

At 28, he should be entering his prime. Instead, the Bears' 2003 first-round pick is sitting on his couch wondering if he'll get another chance. On the upside, Byron Leftwich and Dante Culpepper were in the same predicament a year ago. Now they're both in line for starting gigs, and Leftwich even got a Super Bowl ring as a backup last season.

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

Heading into this year's draft, Josh Freeman was considered to have the highest upside of any quarterback entering the NFL in 2009, while also possessing the biggest downside. The Buccaneers, in need of a true franchise quarterback for the first time since ... well, they've never really had one, were not only willing to take the chance on Freeman, but they were also willing to move up two spots to get him.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers think they finally have a franchise quarterback, in Kansas State's Josh Freeman. They very well might, but that doesn't make him a good fantasy football option for this coming season. In fact, I don't think he should be drafted in any league as of right now.

The Bucs currently have Byron Leftwich, who will probably be starting this season, while the rookie is brought along, a la Carson Palmer waiting behind Jon Kitna in Cincinnati. It's possible for the Bucs to cut Leftwich -- since they didn't give him a signing bonus it wouldn't cost them any money -- but most in the know believe Freeman's not ready to immediately come in and start.

There used to be a time when teams would use a first-round pick on a quarterback with the understanding that he would sit on the bench for two or three years, learn the offense, and then assume the full-time gig. Recently, with the proliferation of the pro-style offense in college, and the out-of-control salaries top-of-the-draft quarterbacks now command, more is expected sooner.

Since 2002, 20 QBs have been drafted in Round 1, and 10, for different reasons, played in at least nine games as a rookie. Results were mixed (Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Byron Leftwich and Ben Roethlisberger were all stellar; David Carr and Joey Harrington were not), but much of that had to do with the situation these young signal callers were thrust into.

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During the NFL draft a lot of fancy buzzwords get thrown around by analysts, bloggers, fans and, well, pretty much anybody watching the annual selection meeting. Smoke screen, reach, tweener, value ... you get the idea. When it comes to smoke screens, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers attempted to use one of their free-agent signings in an effort to hide their interest in eventual first-round pick, quarterback Josh Freeman. That is, if we believe Freeman.

Appearing in an NFL.com chat after being selected by the Bucs, Freeman claimed that the Tampa Bay front office informed him that its two-year deal with free agent quarterback Byron Leftwich was nothing more than a giant ruse.

With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.

What started off as a promising season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers turned into an embarrassing finish, as the team lost its final four regular season games in 2008, missing the postseason for the third time in four years. When all was said and done, it was enough to cost head coach Jon Gruden his job, while the team said goodbye to several starters, including Derrick Brooks, Jeff Garcia and Cato June.

Nate Davis has had a rough few months. After an impressive junior season at Ball State -- one in which some folks had him pegged as a possible first-round pick -- the MAC quarterback has experienced a series of setbacks that will cost him millions of dollars, and perhaps the opportunity to play professional football.

ESPN.com's Jeffri Chadiha wrote earlier this month that Davis "... seemed destined to follow Ben Roethlisberger, Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich as the next great Mid-American Conference quarterback to enter the NFL," although now he's more likely to be lumped in with Bruce Gradkowski, Charlie Frye -- or worse -- Omar Jacobs.

When the college football season ended, almost nobody had Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman destined for the first round. Now, with less than a week before the draft, there's virtually no way he makes it past the 19th pick, at least to hear the draftniks tell it.

With the Lions, 49ers, Broncos and Buccaneers all potentially looking for franchise quarterbacks, and with only three legit first-round prospects in the draft, competition could artificially inflate their values. Pretty much everybody agrees that Matthew Stafford is the best of the bunch (although Mike Mayock is partial to Mark Sanchez), and depending on what the Lions decide to do with the top pick, Sanchez could be gone by the fourth -- and no later than the fifth -- selection.

Two weeks ago, Byron Leftwich met with the Redskins. It was the first free-agent visit of the offseason for a player most of us thought would be in high demand. Leftwich would also visit the Buccaneers, which prompted the Steelers to step up their efforts to re-sign Ben Roethlsiberger's backup, but Tampa Bay has apparently landed the 2003 first-round pick.

That's the word on the street, anyway: "Free-agent quarterback Byron Leftwich has agreed to a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a source told ESPN's Michael Smith."

Byron Leftwich was supposed to be one of free agency's most sought after players. Instead, the former Jaguars first-round pick is still without a team, and didn't make his first visit of the spring till he talked to the Redskins last week.

Yesterday, Leftwich met with the Bucs -- a club in desperate need of a quarterback -- but left Tampa without signing a contract. And today, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette writes that the Steelers, where Leftwich ably backed up Ben Roethlisberger during last year's Super Bowl run, are moving quickly to re-sign him.