Cleveland, Oh. (PFCritics) -- It's back to the drawing board for the Buccaneers in terms of a backup quarterback. Current backup Luke McCown will have knee surgery later this week after he partially tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee on June 15th during a workout.

It's not yet known how long McCown will be out, but it could be long enough to force the team to place the quarterback on the physically unable to perform list to begin the season. The team may bring in a veteran to compete for the backup spot, although they may already have one in Tim Rattay. Jared Allen and rookie Bruce Gradkowski will also compete for the job.

The Buccaneers acquired the young McCown from the Cleveland Browns last year on draft day. He started last year as a third-stringer for the Buccaneers, but then became the backup when Brian Griese went down with a season-ending injury.

"We're not going to just bring anybody in because he has experience. We're looking for somebody out there who has good experience who can come in and play well and help us," said Gruden. "But if we don't, we have a young quarterback in Chris Simms who needs a lot of work, and Bruce Gradkowski needs a lot of work and Tim Rattay needs a lot of work. Jared Allen had a good stint over there in the World League. If we bring a guy in, we're going to bring a guy in with a purpose."

The injury to McCown occured when he scrambled to his right and planted his foot in an attempt to make a cut upfield.

"I felt the pain and went down," said McCown. "It's a cut I've probably made a thousand times."