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Alex McGough dreamed of joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he crossed the “Bay of Pigs” instead.
McGough, the USFL MVP and a two-time champion with the Birmingham Stallions, signed with the Green Bay Packers on Tuesday, July 18. The Tampa native previously detailed his desire to play for the Bucs and plans to reconnect with offensive coordinator Dave Canales.
The two worked together with the Seattle Seahawks in 2020 and 2021. Canales coached quarterbacks, and McGough served on the practice squad.
“I’ve been cheering for them since I was five years old, and it would be a dream come true if I could see my name on a Buccaneers jersey,” McGough told FOX 13’s Kevin O’Donnell. “That would be top tier.”
“I texted him. He said ‘congratulations and if you’re ever in Tampa let me know’. I text him back like right away and said ‘I’m here … just got here’, so maybe a little bit later next week we can catch up or go to dinner or something,” McGough said regarding Canales in the July 10 interview. “We’ll have to plan that out.”
USFL 2-time Champion and league MVP Alex McGough talks future, Bucs and Tampa Bay’s new offensive coordinator Dave Canales. Full story on Fox 13 at 5:50 @McgoughAlex @DcoachCanales @Buccaneers
“He’s an excellent coach. He’s a football genius, and I’m really excited for him to be able to call the plays and to get to show his skill set,” McGough added.
The Bucs already have three quarterbacks on the roster with Baker Mayfield, Kyle Trask, and John Wolford. However, the Bucs had four quarterbacks during the past two seasons between the roster and practice squad.
Alex McGough Gets Chance to Be Primary Backup in Green Bay
Instead, McGough will become the fourth quarterback on the Packers depth chart behind Jordan Love, rookie Sean Clifford, and Danny Etling. McGough arguably could compete for the main backup job behind Clifford and Etling — both of whom have no regular season experience.
In McGough’s first NFL stint, he never made it on the field in a regular season game either as a practice squad player with the Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans. He hopes his USFL performance could help him stick in the NFL this time around.
“I thought it was something that could get me back into the league, and hopefully, it will do that,” McGough told ABC Action News.
Bucs Could Add a Fourth Quarterback
Tampa Bay adding a fourth quarterback came up in the spring, and Canales didn’t rule it out.
“I’m good with three. We’ve done three, we’ve done four. It just all depended on if there was a rookie or some type of developmental prospect from the quarterback position that we were excited about,” Canales said in a May press conference. “That’s when you potentially carry four. But if you carry four into the season, a lot of times the fourth guy is not going to get very many reps.”
A developmental prospect likely wouldn’t describe former Bucs quarterback Ryan Griffin — the longest-tenure signal caller in franchise history. Griffin had served on the practice squad since 2015, but the Bucs didn’t offer him a new contract this year.
Griffin, 33, remains unsigned as teams open training camps in the next week. For now, the Bucs have stuck with just three quarterbacks on the 90-man roster going into training camp.
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Quarterback With Tampa Ties Signs With Packers