Josh Freeman does not get it. The quarterback was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and then signed by the quarterback-struggling Minnesota Vikings with the promise that he would be in contention to start at some point this season. He earned one start against the New York Giants and has not seen the field since. It is not like another quarterback is playing outstanding for the Vikings, leaving Freeman wondering why he has not been given a second chance.
The Vikings have opted to rotate between Matt Cassel and Christian Ponder. Neither quarterback is performing well right now and showing zero signs of bringing life into the franchise. So why not give Freeman a start? That is was he is asking himself.
"I don't think there's any concrete reason," Freeman said, via the Pioneer Press. "I think they want me to get more fluent and continue to understand the system, and I'm continuing to do that, learning a lot. I'm watching a lot of film and staying in these game plans. If you ask coach and he feels he wants to go with the other guy ... coaches are paid to coach, and players are paid to play."
Due to the lack of playing time, Freeman has every intention of becoming a free agent at the end of the year. The 2013 season has not been kind to the quarterback. His start with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was plagued by coaching drama and smear campaigns. Now he is ready for a fresh start with a new team in order to get his career back on track.
"I don't know -- it all really depends on the situation at that time," Freeman said. "Having had an opportunity to choose a team earlier this season and picking the Vikings, I still think this is a great place, great people, staff from the top on down. But that's not something I'm concerning myself with at the moment."
For now, the quarterback will continue to sit on the sideline and hold the clipboard. He supports Cassel and Ponder despite the overall struggles of the offense. He stresses that he is ready to play whenever the team decides to call his number, but until then he will be a cheerleader.
"I'm here to support Matt or Christian, whoever's in, and continue to just grow in the system," Freeman said. "An NFL offense - I know you guys really haven't been around them - but they're pretty complex. There's a lot of ins and outs, different layers, stuff they might have run earlier in the year that's a pretty hard concept. They adjust for a certain week. There's a lot to take in. It's been fun learning it."
