Gradkowski to the Rams

We've learned Bruce Gradkowski, released by the Bucs on Friday, has been claimed off waivers by the St. Louis Rams. We're still awaiting official confirmation from the league.

That means the Rams will take on the final two years of his deal, which is set to expire after the 2009 season.

St. Louis currently has three quarterbacks on its roster: starter Marc Bulger and backups Trent Green and Brock Berlin. Gradkowski would seem to at least have an edge over Berlin for the No. 3 spot behind Green, assuming Green is in good health.

Gradkowski was reportedly drawing interest from several clubs who were considering making waiver claims for the third-year player out of Toledo.

Comments

[Valrico Rick]

Good for Bruce, he's the kind of guy you want to see make it. The truth be told Gruden allowing him to be the starter for a large portion of 2006 is the likely reason why he was picked up. Starting experience is valuable for a Quarterback looking for a job in May. Usually players that are cut from the fringe clear waivers because the new team wants to write a new contract, but if there is competition for the player you can't take that chance. I hope he does well for the Rams.

[George L Hicks]

Well Tampa Bay fans.
It seems that another NFL team is willing to take on his contract. What
does that tell you., Maybe Tampa was trying to trade him, and the teams would not bite back during Nfl draft. I think Tampa should have keep him, and release Simms and McCown.

[Kurt]

Told you so.

[George]

Honestly i don't understand why is he dragging so much attention, the guy didn't show anything promising, but hey, is other's problem now

[cory]

Well George it's a good thing you don't run the team. Gradkowski had absolutely nothing to offer. You can have all the potential in the world, but if you can't throw the ball more than 10 yards it doesn't really matter. He was a waste of time and a roster spot.

[shane]

good for grad i hope he makes it in St. Louis. Grad may have had little to offer but he was a good teammate for the bucs

[Skylar]

I knew that wouldn't take long; even faster than I though actually. Poor guy was the scapegoat for a downward spiral of the 2006 season. Good luck Grad! He actually played nearly as good as the Rookie of the Year that year...

[DR]

Obviously, all NFL QBs throw the ball over 10 yards so that type of comment is truly pathetic. Way to justify your hatred of a player for whatever stupid reason you have. Grad will do well in another town. He doesn't have to deal with the daily soap opera that takes place at One Buc Place, especially at the QB position that includes simms.

[Glenn Bozinski]

Nice, character guy, but really his talent level is well below that of an NFL QB, even a backup. I could never understand why he earned that many starts a few years ago, or why he was kept around so long. Makes little sense to me for the Rams style offense, would be better suited for a more run-oriented team where he only has to throw 15 safe passes per game, instead of a team in the top 10 in attempts.

[CW]

Wow, the Rams' QB situation is f***in' awful! Bulger, Green, Berlin & Gradkowski! That sounds like a punchline. Green was good, but I got the feeling last year that he would not see a football field again. Berlin - I didn't even know that guy was still in football - shouldn't he be selling insurance or something? Gradkowski might jump into a backup role. Bulger has been getting progressively worse.

[willem]

for years in the nfl and and round he got picked in gradkow has pretty good experiance and thats what team will look for in a 3rd stringer, you trow him in and at least he knows what to expect and wont be a deer in the lights

[Vince]

Stephen, very "fair and balanced" paper you work for. The link to the Seattle Times article is still up front, but nothing on Stephen's response, other than a 4-day old blog entry by you that mentioned only part of Stephen's comments. I am no fan of Stephens, but I am less a fan of the way the Times handles itself.

[Reid Middlebro]

Dispite what many of the readers here might think ---> Gradkowski will do fine in a back up role... We keep forgetting that he started as a rookie, with an terrible offensive line, in the NFC South... Those three things would make any rookie look terrible... Wait and see what Matt Ryan looks like this year in Atlanta - if his stats, or wins/losses are much higher than Gradkowski's were from 2 or 3 years ago I'd be surprised. I'm not saying he should stay, because he's not good enough to be our 3rd QB, but put things in perspective... In 2 or 3 years, he could be the next Kurt Warner or Derek Anderson for the Rams.

[cory]

It's called exaggerating DR. It was a joke watching him try to throw the deep ball to galloway. It's personal hatred because i recognize that your not going to be a good qb qith a terrible arm? He's the worst qb we had here and needed to go. I still don't understand why you always post about a team you don't like....

[Matt]

Cut McCown? What are you on drugs?! Gradkowski is a CAREER 3rd STRINGER at best! The bucs did right by him, and anyone claming otherwise doesn't know football. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR???? Did you watch any of those games Grads played? We needed 65 yard field goals to win games, and flukey stuff just to get a couple wins. Sure he's a nice guy, but when did the NFL turn into the good guys club. My dad is a good guy but I don't want him playing QB for the Bucs. Warrick Dunn is a good example of GOOD GUY GOOD PLAYER, Gradkowski was not. Stop crying, the bucs did the right thing, he'll be lucky to make the Rams.

[Jordon]

I think Grads will get better with time and experience and become a solid NFL QB. Good luck, Bruce!!

[John]

Grads needs to be somewhere that doesn't use 85 words to call a post route.
Ramble blue eighty eight viking hogwash twenty two mickey mouse BS on two, ready? break!
No wonderful only veteran's can run little Jonny's "complex" system.