A strange story emerged yesterday when longtime NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia said he would announce the Buccaneers’ third-round draft pick, then said he “could care less” about the draft. Now the story may get stranger, as the NFL has excluded Garcia’s name from a list of former players announcing draft picks.
This morning the NFL distributed a list of former NFL players who will announce Round 2 and Round 3 picks for their former teams. Every team has a player listed for its picks in both rounds, with the exception of the Buccaneers’ third-round pick, which Garcia said he was calling. Instead of naming Garcia, the NFL’s official list says “To Be Confirmed.”
Did Garcia withdraw because he felt bad about his harsh words about the draft? Did the NFL pull Garcia? We’ve reached out to the league for comment but we haven’t heard back.
For his part, Garcia is trying to do some damage control. After our post about the matter yesterday, Garcia reached out to us on Twitter and wrote, “Really man, I was honored to be invited by the NFL . All I was doing was relaying the message & then made out to look like I don’t know what the hell I’m doing because they don’t have a 3rd round pick. I played the game a long time, I don’t live it anymore.”
The Buccaneers are one of several teams that have traded away a second- or third-round draft pick. The NFL says players who were chosen to announce picks will be recognized at the draft for their past service to the league, regardless of whether they actually get to announce a pick or not. We’re just not sure if Garcia will be one of those honored players.
UPDATE 9:30 a.m. ET: The league office tells PFT of Garcia, “We are finalizing plans. We’d love to have him.”
