Teams in transition

	Byron Leftwich is coming off ankle surgery and entering the final season of his contract. AP

• Jacksonville -- The cliché is somewhat true: Teams that boast two good options at quarterback sometimes don't have one great one. Byron Leftwich has been re-affirmed as the Jaguars' starter, but he's also entering the final year of his contract without an extension in sight. There's no other way to read that other than his future is on trial this year in Jacksonville.

David Garrard is 9-6 as a starter in the past two years, but his 5-5 mark a year ago included three consecutive losses at the end of the season, leaving somewhat of a bad aftertaste.

Then there's the backdrop of coach Jack Del Rio not always being in Leftwich's corner. Del Rio seemed to sour on Leftwich last season, and reportedly wanted to take Brady Quinn in this year's draft. A little clarity at quarterback might be the ultimate objective this season.

• Oakland -- The Raiders made a nice quarterback move on draft weekend, and we think they should be applauded for it. Oh, and we like that JaMarcus Russell pick too. But the trade with Detroit for Josh McCown should not be overlooked.

McCown was under-used and under-appreciated during his four-year Arizona tenure, and with the Lions he went unneeded behind Jon Kitna. If the Raiders can give him any protection at all, McCown could turn into more than just a body to fill the position until Russell is ready to take the training wheels off. It's early in Russell's maturation process, but the story in Oakland in 2007 could wind up being more about McCown's ability to step in and produce than Russell's obvious long-term potential.

• Cleveland -- The Browns showed great faith in Charlie Frye at this point last year, awarding him the starting job based on his five-game stint as the No. 1 passer in his rookie season of 2005. They wisely decided to not make that mistake again.

Frye isn't without his strengths, but after recording a 72.8 passer rating as a rookie, and 72.0 last year, what conclusion could be reached other than he's an average quarterback at best? Frye will be the guy who gets to start the season, but when the inevitable failure arrives, it'll be Quinn to the rescue. And we don't expect that point in the season to occur much past early October.

Future considerations

• Green Bay -- There were many of us pundits who watched Aaron Rodgers fall to No. 24 Green Bay in the 2005 draft and then quickly opined that the ex-Cal star might have tumbled into the perfect position to launch his NFL career. Learning under Brett Favre for a year or so didn't sound so bad, even if replacing a legend is never enviable.

But as the third year of Rodgers' career looms, Favre refuses to yield the stage, and there are at least rumblings that Green Bay isn't as high on Rodgers today as it was two years ago. All in all, I don't like Rodgers' chances of having much of a career as a Packer. And is it just me, or do Favre and baseball's Mr. Can't Say Goodbye, Roger Clemens, have more in common all the time?

• Tampa Bay -- Like Scarlett O'Hara vowing to never go hungry again as the wreckage of Tara looms behind her, Bucs coach Jon Gruden emerged from 2006 determined to never again be forced into quarterback deprivation. That might explain why Tampa Bay has an NFL-high seven quarterbacks currently on its roster. Seven. Are there even that many seats in the Bucs' quarterbacks meeting room?

Jeff Garcia and Chris Simms will battle it out for No. 1 in the preseason, and the Bucs will be better off in a long-term sense if Simms, the far younger quarterback, wins the job. But with Gruden needing to produce some victories this season to protect his job, the temptation to go with Garcia and the short-term fix will be persuasive.

• Philadelphia -- Here are some indisputable facts regarding the Eagles quarterback situation: Starter Donovan McNabb will turn 31 late in the 2007 season. He has started all 16 games in the regular season just once in the past five years. And Philly's West Coast-style offense is a system that requires plenty of repetition to learn.

Given all that, drafting Kevin Kolb in the second round this spring strikes me as a prudent move, providing Kolb can play. It's time to start grooming someone for the post-McNabb era. But while McNabb says he understands how the NFL works at his position, the mojo between him and the Eagles has been undeniably altered by the move. Many surmise this could be the beginning of the end of a once beautiful relationship.