The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have released QB Josh Freeman after unsuccessfully trying to trade him, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reports.
This ends Freeman’s relationship with the Buccaneers organization, which quickly deteriorated over the past several months.
On Wednesday night, Sports Illustrated reported Freeman had been fined “twice by the club in the last month, including once in the last week, for conduct detrimental to the team.” One of these fines was a result of Freeman missing a team meeting.
Freeman, the No. 17 overall pick in 2009, asked to be traded or released after dropping down on the depth chart entering Week 4 of the season, losing his starting position to rookie QB Mike Glennon. The troubled relationship between Freeman and the Bucs sort of begins and ends with Glennon.
When Tampa Bay drafted Glennon in the 2013 NFL Draft, it sent a clear message that Freeman’s job was not so safe. Things only got worse for Freeman from there.
Freeman was the Buccaneers’ captain since 2010. However, a team vote that took place after Freeman was a no-show to an annual team photograph, he was stripped of his captaincy before the regular season. It was the first honor of the season he would lose.
As the discontent between Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano and Freeman continued to grow, the Bucs lost their first three games of the season. Schiano saw enough, and decided to bench Freeman for their Week 4 game against the Cardinals. Glennon was named the starter.
Now the 0-4 Buccaneers are heading into their bye week, and have decided to ride out the arm of Glennon for the remainder of the season.