TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Tim Rattay was acquired Tuesday by Tampa Bay as the Buccaneers addressed their shortage at quarterback after Brian Griese injured his knee.
The Bucs sent an undisclosed draft choice to the 49ers for the six-year veteran, who lost his job in San Francisco after four weeks to top overall draft pick Alex Smith.
The transaction beat the NFL trading deadline of 4 p.m. Tuesday.
To make room for Rattay on the active roster, the Bucs released rookie fullback Rick Razzano.
Griese tore knee ligaments in Sunday’s victory over Miami and will be out for a lengthy time. Chris Simms took over for Griese as the Buccaneers beat the Dolphins 27-13.
Rattay, a seventh-round pick in 2000, started nine games last season and beat out Smith in training camp this season. But he performed poorly after an opening victory over St. Louis and was benched by coach Mike Nolan.
Rattay has played in 32 games with 16 starts. He has completed 356 of 586 passes (60.8 percent) for 3,941 yards, 24 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. He has a career passer rating of 81.6.
At Louisiana Tech, Rattay started 33 games, finishing second in NCAA history with 12,746 yards passing. He was the third player in NCAA history with more than 100 career touchdown passes.
Tampa Bay’s other quarterback, Luke McCown, was also a standout at Louisiana Tech.
AP-ES-10-18-05 1724EDT
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