At a time when one failed former first-round quarterback considers whether to take a chance in Canada, another failed former first-round quarterback has embraced it.
Former Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman is trying to win a roster spot with the Montreal Alouettes.
“Someone asked me the other day, ‘Dude, are you out of money? Why are you playing in the CFL?’ ” Freeman recently told Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “I said, ‘Because I like playing football.’”
He hasn’t played much football since a once-promising career in Tampa imploded. During his fifth season with the Buccaneers, it all fell apart. He landed in Minnesota, and the Vikings thrust him into action before he was ready, resulting in only one appearance -- a Monday night disaster against the Giants.
Next came an offseason stint with the Giants in 2014, followed by an offseason stint with the Dolphins in 2015. Later that year, he played for something called the Brooklyn Bolts in one of the many failed developmental leagues. Somehow, Freeman landed with the Colts at the conclusion of 2015, starting (and somehow winning) a Week 17 game against the Titans.
Since then, Freeman has gotten no opportunities. So he’s giving the CFL a try, primarily because he misses competing at a high level.
“I mean, you can go to the gym and, like, play basketball as hard as you can,” Freeman explained to Stroud. “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?”
We may soon see what kind of loser, or winner, Freeman is in Canada, depending on whether he loses, or wins, a chance to play there.
As he gives it a try (and it’s hard not to root for anyone who is willing to take a big chance), remember this: Freeman is only 30. If he can somehow rediscover whatever it was that allowed him to pass for more than 4,000 yards in 2012, maybe he’ll eventually get to sit and prepare all week to go kick some kid’s [butt] in football.