“I’ve been lucky in this league in my 20 years. I’ve seen some great ones. I was in Miami starting out when Dan Marino was there. I worked for New England and watched Tom Brady grow. And I’ve been around Donovan McNabb and Kurt Warner. I’ve seen the common threads. And now in these two quarterbacks, I see an amazing amount in common. They both had great success in college. Both won a Heisman. Both winners. Both tape junkies. Both coaches’ dreams. Both mentally can handle the pressure of what they’re about to face.

“But I’d be lying if I said I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the off-field stuff. It’s always in the back of your mind. We’re people too. We have wives and daughters and bosses to answer to. And at the end of the day we will do the kind of due diligence the likes of which I don’t believe the Bucs will have ever done. This decision is going to affect so many people and their families. We’ve got to get it right.”

via The MMQB with Peter King