Could Luke McCown be the Buccaneers starting quarterback in 2009? The team re-signed him on Monday, leaving only McCown, Brian Griese and Josh Johnson under contract for next season.

With $42 million in cap space, Tampa could sign a free agent signal caller this offseason, but the market is bare. Kurt Warner is expected to return to Arizona, which would leave Jeff Garcia, Rex Grossman and Kyle Boller as the top quarterbacks on the market. Yikes.

Although the aging veteran Griese might have a slight edge to start next year for the Bucs, there’s a strong chance that McCown could win the job in preseason and line up under center come Week 1. And although he has flashed signs of potential at random times throughout his career (mostly in two performances in 2007), McCown certainly isn’t a long-term answer. Hell, he might not even be the short-term answer. (Although to be fair, I am the idiot who questioned the Cardinals for going with Warner over Matt Leinart last year, so maybe McCown can be the answer at quarterback for Tampa.)

Tampa has gone through some radical changes since the season ended, firing head coach Jon Gruden, losing defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin to the University of Tennessee, and naming Raheem Morris as Gruden’s successor. Even though the free agency period hasn’t even started and the scouting combine is yet to be conducted, the Bucs look like a strong candidate to take a major step back in ’09.