Tom Pelissero of USA Today dove into the Josh Freeman situation head first today, talking to multiple people around the football world that believe Freeman and the Vikings did themselves a disservice when they agreed to a contract two months ago.
Released by the Buccaneers after an ugly back-and-forth that followed Freeman being benched by Tampa Bay, Minnesota signed the fifth-year quarterback and started him just 13 days later in New York, leading to a performance some would call the worst in recent memory by a QB.
The Vikings haven’t started Freeman since, and have deactivated the Kansas State University alum on a number of occasions on game day.
According to Pelissero, the way Minnesota has handled the Freeman situation after signing him for $2.8 million two months ago led an unnamed NFL executive to say the Vikings “flushed $2 million down the toilet” with the addition of Freeman.
Steve Clarkson, a quarterback coach who has worked with Freeman before, namely in the lead up to him being a first-round pick in the 2009 NFL draft, said Freeman would’ve been “better off waiting for a year” rather than signing with a team after being released by Tampa.
Yesterday in an interview with the Pioneer Press, Freeman seemed confused as to why he wasn’t getting the chance to start again for Minnesota.
Head coach Leslie Frazier confirmed yesterday that starter Christian Ponder would miss Sunday’s game with a concussion he sustained last week, and Freeman would serve as the backup to Matt Cassel, who will start against Baltimore.
