It’s been almost two years since a majority of the football-loving world first learned of the word “splenectomy,” thanks to the in-game destruction of Chris Simms’ insides.  [Editor’s note:  Seinfeld aficionados got acquainted with the term in the same episode where a Junior Mint made an unexpected journey.]  And it’s been almost two years of uncertainty over whether he’d be healthy enough to play football again, and if so whether he’d be doing so in pewter. With Simms healthy, the Bucs saturated with quarterbacks and moving on, and final cuts looming, that uncertainty will soon be over.

Either the Bucs will trade Simms, or they’ll release him at the last minute before having to cut down to 53 players. And so this training camp and preseason becomes an audition in front of any team in need of a backup (or potentially starting) quarterback. Last night, as the Bucs played the Patriots, scouts from 20 teams were in attendance to see Phil’s son play.

Three of those teams came from north of the border — the Toronto Argonauts, the Calgary Stampeders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers — but also in attendance were representatives from the Vikings, Cowboys, Colts, and Ravens. The Patriots, who are seeing how destitute they are behind Tom Brady, were surely taking a good look from the other sideline as well.

Simms went 2-for-4 for 24 yards in the game, and is 10-for-14 for 84 yards on the preseason.

The fact that the Colts were in attendance lends a little more credence to the increasing belief that Peyton Manning’s knee injury is more worrisome than they’ve led on.