For a guy who hasn’t always had the best quarterbacks throwing to him, Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald thinks the Buccaneers are fortunate to have one of his old ones.
Fitzgerald told Ira Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune that signing his former teammate Josh McCown was going to be a coup for the Buccaneers.
“I love Josh, he’s a football junkie,’’ Fitzgerald said. “You have to force the guy to come off the field in practice and the man’s a great leader, the kind of guy you want in your locker room.’’
McCown started 19 games for the Cardinals in Fitzgerald’s first two seasons, and then went onto a career as a backup elsewhere. He might eventually reclaim that role, but McCown was brought in to start this year.
But being able to work with Mike Glennon is one of McCown’s strengths, according to his former star receiver.
McCown started 19 games under center for the Cardinals during Fitzgerald’s first two NFL seasons in Arizona, and the 8-time Pro Bowl wide receiver can’t say enough about McCown’s intangibles.
“Josh is going to help Mike Glennon a ton,’’ Fitzgerald said. “You can ask any quarterback who has ever been around Josh -- [Jay] Cutler, Kurt Warner, anybody -- and they will tell you he’s an ideal teammate. Even if he’s not playing, he’s going to be your biggest fan. He’s just that kind of guy ... he’ll never be a pouter.’’
McCown has always shown sufficient ability, but hasn’t had an opportunity like this one in years. Fitzgerald clearly thinks he’s going to make the most of it.