The Montreal Alouettes announced Saturday that former Buccaneers QB Josh Freeman is retiring and has removed himself from the running to be the team’s starting quarterback.
“We would like to thank Josh for his work and dedication. He was a consummate professional throughout camp,” said Alouettes General Manager Kavis Reed. “We respect his decision and we wish him the best in the future.”
Freeman was trying for the Alouettes and recently told Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times that he was trying to resurrect his football career this summer.
“Someone asked me the other day, ‘Dude, are you out of money? Why are you playing in the CFL?’ ” Freeman told Stroud. “I said, ‘Because I like playing football.‘”
Freeman explained that he misses the competition that comes from playing team sports.
“I mean, you can go to the gym and, like, play basketball as hard as you can,” Freeman said. “But you can’t really compete. You don’t sit and prepare all week to go kick some kid’s [butt] in basketball. What kind of loser is that?”
Freeman, 28, was taken in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Buccaneers. He wound up playing four years for the Bucs before they cut him loose in July of 2012.
He had brief stints with the Vikings, Giants and Dolphins before the Colts gave him a shot towards the end of the 2015 season. Unfortunately, Indianapolis decided to release him a few months later.
For his career, Freeman threw for 13,873 yards while completing 57.6 percent of his passes to go along with 81 touchdowns and 68 interceptions over the course of six seasons and 62 games played. He also rushed for 946 yards and four touchdowns.
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