Should the Packers consider Josh Freeman as their backup?

[ExpatPacker]

We know he's out of Tampa. The circumstances of his departure suggest that he was pretty much pushed out and it was not a case of him taking his ball and going home. In other words, Freeman isn't a head case, at least it doesn't appear that way.

TB is paying his salary for the rest of the year.

He's a helluva lot better than Graham Harrell.

Just asking your opinions.

 

[I_am_smoked_cheddar]

NO !

 

[12theTruth]

Freeman has displayed the talent in the past and if he were to accept a back role and a modest salary than he would be a good talent as the backup. It also depends how deep Freeman's problems go. Perform a thorough examination mentally, physically, and his personal associations... basically weeding out any possible Vick's, Aaron Hernandez's, etc.

Wallace is just signed for one year I think? Freeman is relatively young and if nothing else could resurrect his image while spending two or three seasons in G.B. while he makes a couple token appearances in the 4th quarter of any blowouts the Packers may have.

 

[I_am_smoked_cheddar]

I almost gave the previous poster an X as he did me, but it is not fair to pick on another member for expressing their opinion. I frequently disagree with other post without posting such a rating, I just ignore them. I do not see Freeman as a good fit in GB, furthermore, with the disturbance he has been involved in TB , it could spread into the Packers locker room and that we don't need.

 

[Oshkoshpackfan]

HELL NO !!!!

The Bucs asked EVERY team in the NFL for trade options and ALL teams said no......that alone should tell you something right there. Considering there are teams in desperate need of QB help, yet no team bites at an offer.....Nope wouldnt take him if he was for free.

 

[12theTruth]

NO !

Boy I'm relieved that you didn't give me negative rating Smokey . Wonder if your comments somehow imply that you are better because you didn't?? Since you get so worked over such a trivial thing I went ahead and removed it.

HELL NO !!!!

The Bucs asked EVERY team in the NFL for trade options and ALL teams said no......that alone should tell you something right there. Considering there are teams in desperate need of QB help, yet no team bites at an offer.....Nope wouldnt take him if he was for free.

I look at the situation from a broader view. The media wanting another good story is taking juicy information provided by the Bucs and running with it as they (ESPN) are nothing more than a tabloid these days anyways.

For cripes sakes, I'd be a hypocrite to blatantly refuse to give at least a look see on Freeman, when we have a rehabbed convicted drug user doing wonders for our team as we speak.

This link paints a different picture of Josh Freeman than I'd get if I would let the HELL NO'S persuade my point of view.
http://www.cbssports.com/general/wr...y-shameful-particularly-if-bucs-inspired-leak

 

[mradtke66]

The Bucs asked EVERY team in the NFL for trade options and ALL teams said no......that alone should tell you something right there.

And I'll tell you exactly what it tells me--no team was dumb enough to trade anything for a guy they knew would get released AND have to pay the balance of his ~8.4 million salary.

No, the smart play, even if you were in love with Freeman was to wait. Now you get him for free and he take the vet minimum--his salary from the Bucs is 100% guaranteed.

How good of a player his is or isn't OR how good of a fit he is is something completely different.

 

[PackFanNChiTown]

Wait for Flynn to get cut and sign him back to where he belongs.

 

[HardRightEdge]

1. It's too late for him to do any good this season. Better to stick with Wallace who's still getting up to speed.
2. Freeman said he passed all his drug tests, but now it's been leaked he took Ritalin besides having a prescription for Adderal, evidently approved, for an ADHD diagnosis.
3. Somebody at some point will want to pay him more than he's worth to us now that they don't have to give up anything to get him, and he'll want to hold out for that. He's young and has some impressive numbers on his resume; he'll get at least one more shot as a starter.

He'll be back next year, if not sooner, with somebody competing for a starting job after he clears the NFL drug rehab program and says all the right things he's told to say. Somehow, though, a QB with an alleged attention deficit is not somebody you'd want to make any long term bets on. Other teams will want to know whether the diagnosis was faked up before signing him.

He didn't get dumped because he's washed up necessarily. It was because he had a bad stretch, he evidently didn't see eye-to-eye with the coach, and was evidently well-liked in the locker room. They had to cut him...you can't have an "us vs. them" division with the coach on one side and a player and his supporters on the other.

 

[Darth Garfunkel]

They aren't doing their jobs if they don't take a look at every available player.

 

[HardRightEdge]

They aren't doing their jobs if they don't take a look at every available player.

To be realistic, given Freeman's youth and his outstanding rookie season, he'll be asking for something like mid-tier starter money unless and until we get deep into the next offseason and there are no takers. He's getting paid this year regardless under his guarantee...he's far from desperate and in no hurry.

Relegating himself to a career backup role is the last thing on his mind at this stage.

So, one looks for a minute or two, gathers in the realities of the situation, and then moves on to other matters.

 

[7thFloorRA]

I originally liked the idea but I have since heard some rumblings of him being a pretty big **** head in college too. He supposedly was involved with something at a bowl game and it ended up getting Snyder to resign......before ultimately returning a few years later. Jordy would have some good info on him.

 

[Sunshinepacker]

So, to everyone who said no; do you all believe in the immortal Seneca Wallace that strongly? The question about Freeman as backup should deal more with "is he an improvement", not "do i like him as a starting quarterback"...and I'm sorry but Seneca Wallace has not made a believer out of me

 

[I_am_smoked_cheddar]

Availability or economics is not the issue, the issue is what disruptive baggage would he be bringing with him ? Wallace is as good as any if he is needed. Let us have good thoughts about our team and it's players, Karma is a good allai . Freeman may end up in Chicago !

 

[NelsonsLongCatch]

He's young and might be worth a tryout. He had a great year two years ago and is still incredibly young. I wouldn't mind signing him as a backup. Does Seneca Wallace really inspire confidence?

 

[MadtownPackFan]

Freeman and the Packers were likely linked together because of the high praise Alex Van Pelt gave him after he was released by Tampa Bay. Van Pelt was Freeman's position coach from 2010-2011. The Packers most likely did their own due diligence on the guy. He' s still young and has showed flashes as a starter but unknowns about him and his off field issues must have been enough to scare interested teams off. Personally I wouldn't mind him as Rodgers backup but given the timing and complexity of the Packers offense he probably wouldn't be a good fit this season. Seneca Wallace may not excite most people but he has ample experience in the West Coast offense and would be the Packers best option if Rodgers were to go down with an injury. Ideally the Packers won't have to worry about a backup Rodgers stays healthy and continues to shred opposing defenses. GO PACK GO!

 

[longtimefan]

Another "name" people get excited about even tho it is a horrible fit for this year

 

[longtimefan]

TB is paying his salary for the rest of the year.

.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/buccaneers/2013/10/03/josh-freeman-waived/2916719/

another team would have to pick up the balance of Freeman's salary.-----Freeman is owed the remaining $6.25 million on the contract he signed as the third quarterback selected in the 2009 draft behind Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez.

That in its self is a no to the Packers even looking at him

 

[FrankRizzo]

Couple of points:

-He was Jordy's QB in college at K-State.

-If I remember correctly, in Freeman's first ever NFL start with the winless Bucs, he defeated Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.

I'd vote no right now though, because I think he's slow, mentally weak, and an overall distraction.
Also, I don't think he can learn this offense fast enough to grasp it.....

 

[FrankRizzo]

NO.
But Matt Flynn is headed back this off-season.

 

[weeds]

I don't know enough about this kid to even have an opinion. He's proven that he can play in the NFL with a pretty shi**y cast around him. I think this Shiano character will F-up a lot of young players there to be honest. As I said, I think that the Pack need to be and will be, careful on who they bring in as a backup QB solely because Ted will bring in a less 'talented' QB who isn't all 'arm' and no 'brain'. I just don't know enough about the kid's mental abilities -- never heard him talk, you know?

 

[FrankRizzo]

Matt Flynn was the perfect Packers backup QB.
He's also proven he's not starter-worthy.
Plus he's gotten paid.

He'll come home....

 

[Vltrophy]

No. Everyone deserves a 2nd or even 3rd chance. Maybe he was late to the meetings & team pic b/c he didn't like what was going on but tough crap. U get pd to show up be there. He should've pulled up his big boy underware & dealt w/it.

 

[Shanghai Pack]

Personally, I'd pass on him too. It's not a matter of talent though, I just don't think he'd be a good match for the system we run. He strikes me as more of a big play/scramble around and throw deep sort of QB then a precision passer. There's a bunch of other teams that play more along that style that hypothetically should have an interest in him (for instance Cleveland is about the deep ball and Hoyer's out for the year now). I don't fault him much for the mess that went on in Tampa the last year and a half. It really seems like Schiano is complete poison as a coach and leader and Freeman showed enough beforehand to suggest he can win in the NFL on some level.

I read today that one of the biggest suitors thus far have been the Oakland Raiders and I mention that only to say that if the Raiders did sign Freeman, it seems very likely they would release Matt Flynn shortly thereafter. Now if Flynn was available, I'd hope the Packers would jump at a chance to bring him back as the back up.

 

[ExpatPacker]

I agree with some of the opinions stated here, and Flynn would probably be a better fit than Freeman for us, but IMO Freeman is taking a bad rap somewhat unfairly.

- Latest is that Freeman did not intentionally skip the team meetings. He was told not to attend by the coaches, read: Schiano.
- Freeman has not been a head-case for his first 3 seasons. He was a quiet performer before this whole thing blew up. That's not to say he didn't have some issues, but I don't see where he showed any indications it as the starter for TB.
- We don't know what went on in the TB organization, but it sure looks to me like Freeman was railroaded out of town. That's not against the law or anything. They can cut anyone they want, but laying it all on Freeman's doorstep to make him look like a crybaby seems like blaming the victim (except he's not a victim).

- All told, I'd rather have Flynn than Freeman, but there's nothing to say that picking up Freeman is a bad idea. The guy's got talent, it would just be a question of whether or not he would accept his role as a back-up. Flynn is a known quantity and his attitude is good.

I agree, however, that bringing Freeman in mid-season is not an ideal situation.

And besides, just to counter the points i've made, Freeman may be pretty sore about being benched then let go to be a decent back up right now. His head may be in the wrong place and it may take a season of cooling down for him to have the right attitude.