Tampa Bay Times Publishes Harsh Headline, Tells Bears to Take Josh McCown Back

The Josh McCown experiment in Tampa Bay has failed.

This time a year ago, the then-Chicago Bears quarterback was piling on the points as he filled in for an injured Jay Cutler. Now, after leaving the team to take the starting position in Tampa Bay, McCown is floundering, and the natives are beyond restless.

Leading the anti-McCown movement is the Tampa Bay Times, which dropped a simple and unmistakable headline in its sports section Monday after the Buccaneers' 21-13 loss to Chicago. The publication flatly told the Bears to take McCown back and leave Tampa Bay to fester in peaceful mediocrity.

Twitter user @Fronczak68 (h/t CSN Chicago's Tony Andracki) tweeted a picture of the headline.

The quarterback situation in Tampa Bay continues to haunt Buccaneers fans' every waking hour. Josh Freeman couldn't get the job done, Mike Glennon is a placeholder and the team drafted Texas A&M wide receiver Mike Evans in May instead of buckling to fan sentiment and taking his college teammate Johnny Manziel.

What bothers Tampa Bay fans the most is the team opted to make other moves in the belief that McCown would be its guy. All the things he did last winter for Chicago—the efficient passing and mature decision-making—were supposed to roll over to Tampa Bay. The Bucs didn't need a gunslinger. They needed a steady hand to deliver balls to legitimate weapons in Evans and Vincent Jackson. McCown hasn't provided that.

Clearly, Tampa Bay fans are over this particular quarterback experiment. The headline is rough, but unsurprising. The craziest part is that two weeks ago, a wide cross section of Chicago fans would've cheered for a straight-up trade. Cutler for McCown, no take-backs, no mercy. Imagine two franchises Quick Paying each other in turnovers.

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

Fortunately for Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers didn't buy in whole hog on McCown. He's signed for a two-year, $10 million contract with $5.25 million due in 2015.

Swallow the cash and ride Napoleon Dynamite to victory, Tampa Bay. Or acquire a certain backup growing restless in Ohio. It's never too late.

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