ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have released QB Josh Freeman after they were unable to find a trade partner.
- Buccaneers GM Mark Dominik has confirmed that Freeman is being released. (Rick Stroud)
- Tampa Bay reportedly contacted all 31 teams regarding Freeman, but couldn’t find any takers. (Jay Glazer)
Here’s a statement from Bucs GM Mark Dominik regarding Freeman’s release:
“We made the decision today to release Josh Freeman. We appreciate his efforts over the past five seasons, but we felt this was in the best interests of both Josh and the Buccaneers.”
The situation regarding Freeman was beyond toxic and there was no way that an NFL team was going to part with draft picks in return for a guy the Bucs were clearly going to release.
Freeman, 25, has $6.2 million guaranteed remaining on his contract, which also worked against the Buccaneers.
- Tampa Bay paid Freeman $5.95 million payment upon releasing him. (Ian Rapoport)
- The Buccaneers will owe Freeman the remainder of his contract because there’s no offset language in his deal. (Adam Caplan)
- This means Freeman can sign another deal with a new team and still receive his remaining salary from the Bucs.
Teams like the Vikings, Browns, Jaguars, Titans and Raiders have all come up as speculative options for Freeman, should he become available, so we’ll have to see what kind of market develops for him. Some have also mentioned that the Packers could also be an option.
- Ian Rapoport mentioned that the Titans are probably not an option for Freeman and the Cardinals “aren’t interested,” via Chris Wesseling.
On the season, Freeman has completed 45.7 percent of his passes for a total of 571 yards passing to go along with two touchdowns and three interceptions.
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