ESPN’s Jaworski: Hope still for Bucs’ Freeman, Cardinals possible destination
Sep 27, 2013, 11:23 PM | Updated: 11:23 pm
While all the attention is on Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie quarterback Mike Glennon this week, there’s still an unresolved situation with the player he overtook for the starting job, Josh Freeman.
Only two years ago, Freeman was considered one of the top young quarterbacks in the league, set to be the Bucs’ franchise player for years to come. Now it seems that Tampa Bay has moved on from the fifth-year player, but there are still supporters of Freeman around the league, including ESPN’s Ron Jaworski.
Jaworski told Arizona Sports 620’s Burns and Gambo Friday that he believes Freeman is a talented quarterback who needs a new situation to succeed.
“There was a stretch last year of about six games where I thought he was the best quarterback in the NFL. He was playing at a very high level,” Jaworksi said, before adding what he thinks went wrong for Freeman. “When you have an incredible, talented quarterback, you’ve got to coach him and you’ve got to coach him hard. And then you’ve got to coach other players around him. I don’t think that’s happening in Tampa Bay.”
Unhappy with the benching, Freeman has reportedly requested a trade in the hopes of another starting opportunity in the NFL, and Jaworski thinks he’ll be a hot commodity. Among the teams potentially interested are the Cardinals, according to Jaworski, as Carson Palmer isn’t a long-term fix and the 25-year-old Freeman still has room to develop.
“I would be very surprised if the Cardinals would not kick the tires,” he said. “But I will guarantee there will be a lot of teams calling (general manager) Mark Dominik in Tampa Bay about making a deal for Josh Freeman.”
Freeman is an unrestricted free agent after this year and has an almost $10 million cap hit, which could prevent teams from trading for him in-season.
