From Buc to Brown. Hello, Bruce!

Well, it's done. Brady Quinn, in what could be called an "I-learned-my-lesson" move, is having surgery on his broken finger and will be off of it for about ten weeks.  On the plus side, he should be good again to sign autographs when the next auto show rolls through the I-X Center.

Now on to the real news, because something this insignificant has really gotten me thinking for some reason.  To have more than one and a half quarterbacks ready for the Titans game, the Browns signed Bruce Gradkowski.  The moment I heard that, the name hit me like a bolt of lightning.  I knew who Bruce was... I just couldn't remember him, so I did some searching.  Remember when Chris Simms was the Bucaneers quarterback and he somehow busted open his spleen during a game, kept playing, and risked dying on the field?  Well, do you remember who took over when he was in recovery?

That's right, it was Bruce.

There are some interesting things to think about, though.  First and foremost, guess where Bruce is from.  Answer, Pittsburgh.  That's more of a novelty question, but now guess where Bruce went to school.  Answer, Toledo!  That's right, the Browns just signed a Toledo Rocket.  Surely if Bruce was able to withstand living for four years in Toledo, he can manage in Cleveland.

Not only that, here's another thought.  Assuming Derek Anderson isn't with the Browns next season (and yes, I'm still assuming), what's to stop the Browns from holding on to Bruce as a #2 with Dorsey behind him and Quinn?  Bruce has seventeen games of experience from 2006 to now, and is about 500 on the touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio in that time. Granted, he didn't play at all (so far) in 2008, largely thanks to Gruden's love affair with about 572 other quarterbacks before the season started, but I can't shake the feeling that the end of this season won't be the only time that we see Bruce Gradkowski in Cleveland.

EDIT: Suspicions confirmed!  When the Browns signed Bruce, they signed him to a TWO-year contract!