Bucs WR Antonio Bryant (knee questionable) was limited again Friday, but is expected to play Sunday. Still, his fantasy value is low with Josh Johnson under center and the rest of the Bucs team around him.

Bucs RB Derrick Ward (knee) didn't practice all week, but made the trip and hopes to play. WR Antonio Bryant and DE Gaines Adams will play for Tampa Bay. The Bucs figure to keep the passing game very simple for Josh Johnson, hoping he'll use his scrambling ability to make some plays.

Although the Buccaneers demoted QB Byron Leftwich in favor of second-year pro Josh Johnson, the team won’t release the seven-year veteran, general manager Mark Dominik said.

Josh Freeman's time has not yet come, but Byron Leftwich's has apparently run out.

Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris announced today that 23-year-old Josh Johnson will replace Leftwich as the starting quarterback in Washington on Sunday.

A day after making their cuts, the Bucs made their bed, officially naming the strapping rookie out of Kansas State, Josh Freeman their backup quarterback behind veteran Byron Leftwich.

Freeman was elevated to the No..2 spot following the trade of Luke Mccown to Jacksonville on Saturday night, with second-year pro Josh Johnson moving up to No..3 on the depth chart.

Morris said he expects his prized first-round pick to be more efficient in an enhanced role.

"Everything we do has a thought process in Josh Freeman," Morris said. "Everything we do has to. We are married to him. Everything we do around that position, around this team, around this organization, the Tampa Bay area … we clean the street on MacDill, it's going to be around Freeman. That's just what it has to be."

The Buccaneers traded backup QB Luke Mccown to the Jaguars for a late-round conditional draft pick in 2010, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

The Bucs had been shopping McCown, who was their No. 2 quarterback behind Byron Leftwich, for more than a week, and the Jaguars were looking to find a solid backup to starter David Garrard.

The move was made after both teams finalized their 53-man rosters and Tampa Bay wound up with four quarterbacks — Leftwich, McCown, Josh Freeman and Josh Johnson. The abundance of quarterbacks gave the Bucs trade options, which quickly materialized.

The Bucs top two wideouts were back at practice Monday, but it's unlikely they'll play in the team's final exhibition game Friday against Houston.

Bucs coach Raheem Morris said he's not sure how close Antonio Bryant (knee) and Michael Clayton (hamstring) are to being 100 percent, but he's confident both will be ready for the start of the season.

Morris isn't quite as sure about PK Matt Bryant, whom he met with Monday. Bryant has been struggling with a hamstring strain and is in danger of losing his job to Mike Nugent.

Morris suggested he will follow traditional lines for the Bucs final exhibition game, which means fans will see little of the team's starters and a lot of young players trying to make the team,

When asked what his quarterback rotation would be for the game Morris said he was still unsure, though he does expect fans to get "a heavy dose of the young guys,'' Josh Freeman and Josh Johnson.

Bucs coach Raheem Morris may have the same love for quarterbacks as his mentor Jon Gruden.

After originally saying he would only keep three quarterbacks on Tampa Bay's roster this season, Morris is now indicating Byron Leftwich, Luke Mccown, Josh Freeman and Josh Johnson could make the team.

"I'm going to keep the best 53 - I've said that from the beginning," Morris said. "Josh Johnson has shown a lot of savvy, a lot of the poise that you want. If Freeman's going to be the leader of your football team, you want to have a young guy like Josh around - a guy who's smart, savvy, can go into a game and get you through it, a guy that's poised, athletic, makes good decisions, a guy who doesn't need many reps to go through it, as we've seen here in these games.

"Is he one of my best 53? Probably."

The Green Bay Packers are concerned enough about their backup quarterback spot that they could get involved in trade talks with Tampa Bay, which is shopping quarterbacks Byron Leftwich, Luke Mccown and Josh Johnson. A league source said the Packers are exploring backup quarterbacks around the league and another source said Green Bay has McCown as a possibility.

The Packers have been concerned about their backup quarterback situation for awhile and seriously considered acquiring Michael Vick, who signed with the Eagles, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. Second-year players Matt Flynn and Brian Brohm are the Packers’ current backups, with Flynn serving as the No. 2 to starter Aaron Rodgers. Flynn is currently nursing a shoulder injury, and Brohm has done little to take advantage in Flynn’s absence.

The Bucs have an overcrowding problem at the quarterback slot and it's looking like the team is getting ready to trade either Luke Mccown(notes), Byron Leftwich(notes), or Josh Johnson(notes).

According to NFL.com, the team has been spending extra time gauging the trade value of all three guys. An official from another team tells the site that it seems as if Tampa Bay wants another team to make the decision for them as to which one of these guys will be their starter.

Of course the problem is that none of these quarterbacks have a ton of value. Otherwise, Tampa Bay would want them, right? Looks like it's going to be a long season in west central Florida.