Buccaneers QB Griese suffers shoulder injury

Oct 6, 2008 - 1:10 AM DENVER (Ticker) -- The return of Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Brian Griese to Denver ended early as he suffered a shoulder injury in the third quarter of Sunday's 16-13 loss to the Broncos.

Denver cornerback Champ Bailey hit Griese with his helmet on a blitz with 8:39 remaining in the period. Griese did not return, but left the field under his own power and does not believe he is seriously injured.

"It's going to be all right," said Griese, who played for the Broncos from 1998-2002. "I took a helmet to the elbow and the swelling made it hard to grip the ball."

Although he threw three interceptions in each of the previous two games, Griese led the Buccaneers (3-2) to three straight victories after taking over for Jeff Garcia. Griese completed 13-of-19 passes for only 88 yards Sunday before being knocked out of the game.

Griese was replaced by Garcia, who was making his first appearance since suffering an ankle injury in Tampa Bay's season-opening 24-20 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

The Buccaneers could have a quarterback controversy, as Garcia sounded like he wants to start again.

"I feel great," said Garcia, who completed 13-of-17 passes for 93 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown pass to Ike Hillard. "When I got my reps in practice this week, I felt sharp, crisp and accurate and I had a bounce in my step, which is important for my style of play."