The NFL schedule is over for the weekend with Monday night football still to come and it appears that Week 6 will mark the start of the quarterback rumblings in free agency, as the Minnesota Vikings have signed Josh Freeman, while the Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Bills are looking to sign quarterback Pat White.
According to ESPN.com, Freeman's agent has said that he will sign with the Vikings, joining Christian Ponder and Matt Cassel on the depth chart, while Pat White and Dennis Dixon have been getting looks from teams, including the Oakland Raiders and the Buffalo Bills. The report from ESPN.com says that the Bills were looking at both Dixon and White, but are thinking about signing White more, but he also is getting a look from the Oakland Raiders despite the solid play from Terrelle Pryor.
The ESPN.com report says that White is getting a workout with the Raiders and that the Bills could try to sign him before that happens, as EJ Manuel is dealing with a knee sprain. Reports have said that the Bills will start Thad Lewis next week against the Bengals, but they would like some insurance at the position depending on how long Manuel will be out, which could last for up to a month or at least a couple weeks. White has a similar style to Manuel and he could slide in nicely depending on how Lewis plays and what coach Doug Marrone wants to do. The Bills also have Jeff Tuel, but they are not all that confident in him.
The Raiders pulled out a win and their interest in White could have to do with their frustrations with Matt Flynn, who was demoted to third string at one point for the team. Pryor was solid on Sunday night, throwing for 221 yards and two touchdowns and he also added 30 rushing yards. The team has Matt McGloin as well and with Pryor having dealt with a concussion already this season, the team could be looking for some insurance with White, as he also has a similar style to Pryor.
White was a superstar at West Virginia and did some work in the wildcat for the Dolphins, but he never caught on as a starting option in the NFL. The Raiders and the Bills were also reportedly interested in Freeman and now he will move to the Vikings. The team likely will give him the chance to play and according to ESPN.com, he signed a one year deal worth $3 million. The Bucs had wanted to trade Freeman but that did not work out and now he will make money from the Bucs as well as the Vikings, as Tampa Bay decided to release him to go with rookie Mike Glennon after he tossed for 4,000 yards last season but did not complete over 50 percent of his passes in three games this year while also tossing three picks.