One of the more bizarre happenings of the 2013 NFL season was the odyssey of quarterback Josh Freeman. He entered the season as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers starting quarterback but that didn't last long. He was on the bench following a poor performance in a week 3 loss to the New England Patriots. Weeks 1 and 2 weren't that great either. He went to the bench with a completion percentage of 45.7 in three games. Trouble was brewing in Tampa for Freeman even before the season. He skipped the team photo and his own teammates didn't select him as a team captain for the first time since his 2009 rookie season. The two events might have been connected. Freeman's real trouble probably started when Greg Schiano was hired as the Buccaneers head coach in 2012. There was no way that the easygoing quarterback was going to be a favorite of the high-strung head coach. That poor recipe for success and Freeman's sad play through thrre games led to the benching. He was released a few weeks later on October 3, 2013 after the team tried unsuccessfully to trade him. On October 6, Freeman signed with the Minnesota Vikings. Then things got kinda weird. He would reportedly compete with incumbents Christian Ponder and Matt Cassel for the starting job. Neither Cassel nor Ponder had taken control of the Vikings starting quarterback position in the first month of the season. Freeman seemed like a promising addition. For some reason the Vikings named Freeman the starter for their week 7 game against the New York Giants after only a handful of practices in a new offense and with a new team. Not only was Freeman named the starter against the Giants he was named the Vikings starting quarterback for all future games. Against the Giants, on Monday Night Football, Josh Freeman played as though he was blindfolded. He had twenty completion in his 53 attempts. A stellar completion percentage of 37.7. That made his three game performance with Tampa look heroic. It wasn't like Freeman had several of his passes dropped or he just missed his targets. He wasn't even close. If he tried to look worse, on purpose, he couldn't look worse. It was one of the worst passing performances that most had ever seen. He would never again start for the Vikings. Still, I thought that Freeman was given a raw deal. He shouldn't have been hustled out so soon after signing. A handful of practices with a new team isn't even near enough. That doesn't completely explain his tragic inaccuracy that dreadful night but he was forced into a tough spot. He really had no role on the Vikings for the remainder of the season. I have no idea what the decision-makers of the team were thinking. It was inevitable that the Vikings would make a coaching change at the end of the season but the Freeman fiasco really sealed the Vikings coaching career of Leslie Frazier. That fiasco was disappointing. I've followed Josh Freeman's football career since his college days at Kansas St. I really liked him in the 2009 NFL Draft. Just behind Matthew Stafford. Certainly ahead of Mark Sanchez. I thought that he showed a lot of promise in his first three seasons with the Buccaneers. He really looked like an ascending young quarterback. He clearly didn't see football the same way as Schiano. That relationship seemed to be at the heart of his difficulties. I have no answers after his bizarre time in Minnesota.
Now, Josh Freeman has a new home. The New York Giants signed him to back up Eli Manning. This is probably the last team that I thought would sign Freeman. The Giants had an awesome view of the 53, mostly errant, passes thrown on that dreadful Monday night. I can imagine that they appreciated Freeman's passing then. I can't imagine that they would appreciate that sort of passing from one of their own. Maybe coming in as Manning's backup will take some pressure off of Freeman. The 2013 season might have been a real mess but Josh Freeman is a talented football player.
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