TAMPA, Fla. -- Around One Buccaneer Place, all signs continue to point toward Mike Glennon starting at quarterback on Sunday in Pittsburgh.
Josh McCown has a sprained thumb and a league source has said he’s likely to miss at least one game. Coach Lovie Smith, who generally doesn’t shed much light on injuries, came fairly close to saying Glennon will start.
“There’s a good chance it will be Mike Glennon,’’ Smith said. “Josh is improving. I like to stay with my standard way of doing things and not talking about starting lineups for the opponent. Mike took the reps today.’’
Glennon also took his turn when it came time for a quarterback to talk to the media and McCown was not seen during the open locker room session. Glennon started 13 games as a rookie last season.
But, when Smith took over as the head coach, he elected to bring in McCown. Smith and McCown were together in Chicago. Smith has said Glennon is the “quarterback of the future." Smith continued to praise Glennon on Wednesday.
“What I’ve seen is a team player, a veteran on how he’s handled the situation,’’ Smith said. “Mike came to work every day preparing. If you’re part of the team, you should prepare like 'if I’m in a backup role, I’m ready to go.' That’s what Mike has done. I talk about what Josh has brought to the quarterback room and for Mike to see how a veteran does it, this has only helped him and prepared him for this situation right now. He’s ready to go. Mike is one of the guys that went into the game without a lot of reps the last time we played and did a decent job. If he’s the starter, having a full week to get ready, he should be even more prepared. The football team feels good about Mike leading it.’’