I don’t ever recall a quarterback’s stock dropping so quickly in a four-week time span like former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman. It was an absolutely dreadful month for the 25-year-old former Kansas St. QB. He went from week 1 starter, to being called a lazy player who couldn’t wake up for team events, to being benched for Mike Glennon (who looks eerily similar to Napoleon Dynamite), then he was shopped around and no one wanted him, to being just jobless. Good Grief. That’s a bad month for anyone; I don’t care who you are. The way the Buccaneers management were spinning his Adderall prescription drug use for ADHD, you’d think Freeman was Pookie from New Jack City. To be fair, Freeman’s on field play didn’t help his cause any either, and I’m not talking about this season only.
Since his 2010 season, his second season in the NFL, Josh Freeman’s record is 11-23 (.324). The only quarterbacks with lower winning percentages than Freeman are Blaine Gabbert from the Jacksonville Jaguars (.192 lol), and Sam Bradford from the St. Louis Rams (.317). With this kid’s physical make-up, he should be a star in this league and making opposing defensive coordinators worry about what he will do to them on Sunday. Unfortunately, that just has not been the case for Freeman. His physical attributes are there, the man can play quarterback and at a very high level. Just throw out Freeman’s winning percentage for argument’s sake and look at his 2010 and 2012 season numbers. In the 2010, the season the Buccaneers went 10-6, Freeman had 3,451 yards passing, 25 touchdowns and only six interceptions. Great numbers for a second year quarterback. The Bucs knew they had something special brewing. In the 2012 season Freeman’s number were better in every department except for interceptions. His 2012 stat line: 4,065 yards, 27 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. So again the potential is there, there just seems to be something wrong with him mentally; it’s like something shot his confidence. Enter Greg Schiano.
I am not a Bucs fan, I don’t know what direction their management planned to go in after John Gruden, but if Schiano is the man they think will lead them to another Lombardi trophy, they are sadly mistaken. First, who goes out and gets the best shutdown corner on Earth, Darrelle Revis, then plays him in a zone defense? Maybe that works in the Big East at Rutgers, but not in the NFL sir. Then he throws his quarterback under the bus every chance he gets which was also ridiculous. If your quarterback can’t trust you, then you really think the players on the team will trust you won’t throw them under the bus next? I’m not going to disrespect Freeman and say the man in sensitive, I don’t know him, but with anything in life, confidence works wonders. Freeman’s confidence looks absolutely shot at this point, and the Bucs head coach and management did nothing to help the situation. Freeman needs a coach that will be behind him; he needs a “players” coach. Not Tony Soprano on the sideline. I think the best fit for Freeman would be the Minnesota Vikings.
I have never heard one bad thing said about Vikings coach Leslie Frazier. His players all seem to love him, he’s obviously patient with his quarterbacks when he’s stuck with Christian Ponder for so long, and he’s a really good coach. Freeman would have the best running back in the league to carry the load, a great offensive line to protect him, and a coach that will back him at every turn. This union makes perfect sense for me. Also, it would be hard to argue Josh Freeman is not an upgrade from Christian Ponder and Matt Cassel. The Vikings would finally be getting an NFL caliber quarterback to help Adrian Peterson, because someone needs to get Peterson some help up there and soon. There are a few other teams I can possibly see working for Freeman as well. The Arizona Cardinals if Carson Palmer doesn’t work out, the Cleveland Browns depending on what they think about Brian Hoyer in the long-term after he comes back from his ACL injury, and even the Jaguars or Titans wouldn’t look bad taking a chance on Freeman. Josh Freeman still has a future in the NFL, let’s hope an NFL GM agrees with me, at least for his sake.
I think Freeman should go to the Raiders.
- He already knows the system there (Greg OIson was his old OC). Comfort-ability will at least make the adjustment easier.
- Oakland is a haven for outcasts.
- Josh fits a Tyrelle Pryor mold - big arm and mobility (it’s criminally insane how Freeman’s legs were never utilized as an offensive threat).
- Dennis Allen doesn’t appear to be a micro-managing tyrant. Freeman comes off as a bit emotionally fragile and professionally immature, and he might need a bit more coddling.
We’ve already seen that Oakland needs a backup. Flynn is a fluke. McGloin probably should not be on an NFL roster. Keeping only two QBs on the active roster has become the nouveau trend in the NFL. Perhaps the Raiders can add more RBs since not a single one they have can stay healthy.
Steven Ross the writer for the site literally texted me the same this about 15 minutes ago. Nice catch Bob.
The only thing with Freeman going there though, you might want to see what you have in Pryor first. Pryor has a really good arm and can run like hell. You bring in Freeman, you may hurt Pryor’s confidence. It could be a Mark Sanchez/Tim Tebow situation. Oakland already has enough problems. I think you find another back-up not as known as Freeman maybe. I do see what you are saying though and it makes perfect sense.
Frantz is NOT a Bucs fan