Josh Freeman has spent most of his Sunday’s since mid-October roaming the sidelines dressed in a Vikings team-issued shirt or jacket with athletic pants and a pair of sneakers. He rarely wears pads and it’s been months since he wore a helmet on gameday.
Reasons why the former Pro Bowl quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hasn’t played since his dreadful performance on Monday Night Football against the New York Giants are difficult to find.
At this point, all anyone knows is that Freeman is open to returning to the Vikings next season, according to the Pioneer Press.
‘I definitely have interest in coming back, for sure,” Freeman said. “It’s a great organization, a great team.”
Earlier this month Freeman hinted to Charley Walters that he wasn’t playing because the Vikings wanted him to continue to “learn the system.”
That statement was the opposite of what Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said earlier this week.
“No, he did a good job picking up things. It’s one of the reasons we played him in that New York game,” Frazier said, via ESPN.com. “He picked up things well and worked hard in practice. He’s still doing those things, picking up the offense, working hard, spending time with coaches doing all the things he needs to do. But with one game left and having a chance to watch Matt (Cassel) play again, we made the decision and that’s probably the way we’ll go.”
Cassel will indeed start the season finale Sunday against Detroit. Christian Ponder will be the backup and Freeman will be inactive for the ninth time in 12 weeks.
Freeman will become a free-agent March 11, at which point he can sign with any team in the NFL.
