The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have announced their fourth signing of free agency, signing free agent quarterback Dan Orlovsky to a two-year deal. Orlovsky will be the backup to Josh Freeman, who is going into his fourth year and needs to rebound from a poor 2011 season. With Orlovsky, the Bucs have an experienced, veteran presence on the roster - one who can teach Freeman how to give the opponent free points by running out of the back of the endzone. No, Dan, that video is never, ever going away.
Orlovsky was most recently the starting quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, and he did well enough to nearly cause them to lose out on the Andrew Luck sweepstakes, helping them to their only two wins. For his career, Orlovsky has completed 58.5% of his passes for 2,880 yards, 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Last season he completed 63.2% of his passes for 6.2 yards per attempt, making him the best quarterback on the Colts' roster by a good, long mile. The signing of Orlovsky means the Buccaneers will let Josh Johnson walk and sign elsewhere.
While the terms of his contract are not known, I wouldn't expect Orlovsky to make much more than the veteran minimum, which would entail a minimal cap hit for the Bucs. The Bucs don't have a lot of cap room left this season, as they have just around $7 million they can actually spend, with $5 million being reserved for rookies. The team must find a way to fill a number of needs with that cash, though, as they need to add a linebacker, a third-down back and preferably a safety this offseason.
Update: The two-year deal is worth $2.5 million, as noted by the team.