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New Jersey – The New York Jets are clearly looking for a quarterback or two to compete with Geno Smith for the starting job, and they had an interesting name in for a visit.
From what I hear, former Tampa Bay Buccaneer and Minnesota Viking quarterback Josh Freeman paid a visit to One Jets Drive this week.
He was out of the league last year.
He was briefly with the New York Giants last off-season from April 21-May 30.
Freeman last played in a game for the Vikings in 2013, on October 16, facing the Giants. The Viking lost 23-7, and failed to score on offense.
He suffered a concussion in that game, and didn’t start another game the rest of the year.
It’s not surprising he got hurt in the game. He had only been with the team for 10 days before starting against the Giants. That is ridiculous. He didn’t know the offense, and had no chemistry with the receivers, and threw 53 times. He’s sitting back there in the pocket, with no clue what to do, against an excellent pass rush – a recipe for disaster.
It’s unclear whether the Jets are going to sign Freeman, but the fact that they kicked the tires on him this week, makes a lot of sense.
He’s a 6-6, 230-pounder, who is still only 27. He has a strong arm and is pretty athletic for his size,
No question, he needs a lot of work on his mechanics, footwork, his psyche – the whole kit and caboodle. But he’s definitely worth taking a flyer on – let Chan Gailey attempt to resurrect him. He has excellent raw tools and rare size for the position.
The Buccaneers really messed this guy up – myriad offensive systems, head coaches, offensive coordinators, quarterback coaches. It was a mess. His head was constantly spinning.
Clearly Freeman could have done a better job, and had a better attitude, but this is no way to develop a quarterback.
It’s kind of interesting. Perhaps the beginning of the end for Freeman in Tampa Bay was the opening game of the 2013, an 18-17 loss to the Jets.
Remember, that game was basically decided by a late hit on Geno Smith by LB Lavonte David (a heck of a player), out of bounds, that set up the Jets game-winning field goal. If not for that penalty, the Bucs likely would have won that game.
It was devastating loss, a terrible way to get out of the game, and they never recovered.
Their season spiraled out of control after that.
Freeman ended up getting replaced by Mike Glennon, and the released in October.
It should be noted that the Jets loved Freeman in the 2009 draft, and if they hadn’t traded up for Mark Sanchez, they definitely had their eye on him.
We will see if they pursue this.
If his head is in the right place, this project is definitely worth pursuing.
I just wanted to pass this along to y’all that he was in the building.
March 5, 2015
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