TAMPA - A potential new landing spot has opened up for disgruntled Bucs quarterback Chris Simms.

With Peyton Manning expected to miss all of training camp and possibly the first week of the regular season following surgery to remove an infected bursa sac in his knee, the Colts are believed to be on the lookout for an extra quarterback.

Simms, of course, has been begging the Bucs to let him go for months. He feels he’s not a part of the Bucs future and wants to begin his career anew elsewhere. Indianapolis could be the place.

Because Manninig is the Colts undeniable and sturdy starter (he’s missed only one regular season play because of injury during his career) the Colts currently have just two other quarterbacks on their roster. One is Josh Betts, who spent last season on the practice squad. The other is Adam Tafralis, a rookie free agent out of San Jose State.

The Colts appear then to be in need of an arm just to get through camp. They would also seem to be in a situation where they need to add a quarterback who is capable of starting and keeping the ship afloat for a while, should Manning need more than the expected four-to-six weeks to recover from his surgery.

Considering the circumstances, Simms may not be the best option, but he is an option. And while we’re on the subject of Simms, this whole Brett Favre mess is probably messing with his chances of leaving the Bucs anytime soon via trade. Here’s why.

We know that the Bears and Lions are two of the teams that have expressed an interest in possibly trading for Simms. Both teams, however, are believed to have interest in Favre as well.

Until the Favre mess is settled, neither team is likely to make a move on Simms. That leaves Simms in the lurch. Which means he’ll probably end up going to training camp with the Bucs.

As much as Simms doesn’t want to do that, it may prove to be in his best interest. If Simms can get any reps at all at camp he could prove he is indeed healthy and ready to play again.

And if he can prove that, then some team such as the Colts, who loses a quarterback to injury, may finally agree to pay whatever it is the Bucs want for him and take him off the Bucs hands.