Thankfully, the smoke signals coming out of One Buc Place suggests the Bucs won't waste a pick on Josh Freeman.

As is usually the case, Joe Henderson of the Tampa Tribune hits a salient point. In his column this morning, Henderson touches upon the many needs of the Bucs. He rattles off the laundry list of names being bandied about and even throws in the name Percy Harvin, likely only because it’s a breadcrumb to the many Gators fans in his audience.

(Given Harvin’s medical history, Joe [not Henderson] would take Jeremy Maclin ahead of Harvin in a heartbeat.)

In the process of reciting the most rumored players the Bucs will obtain via free agency or the draft, Henderson invokes Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman, who Joe (not Henderson) is not high on at all. Henderson points out a few things which leads Joe (not Henderson) to believe Freeman isn”t coming near One Buc Palace unless he’s a visitor.

No one is talking about Josh Johnson too much, but I remember a conversation with Bryant late last season. He had made a big catch or something and went out of his way to say that Johnson, standing on the sideline, had noticed the play would work and relayed the information. Bryant said Johnson had been doing a lot of stuff like that instead of just standing on the sideline and looking at the cheerleaders.

Doug Williams, now the director of pro scouting, was one of the loudest voices in the room last year in favor of drafting Johnson. He continues to be high on the kid, and the Bucs say Johnson will get a chance to show what he can do.

If the Bucs are still of the mind that they want to take Josh Johnson for a test drive, then why even bother with Freeman? Besides, as Henderson points out, the Bucs have way too many holes to fill then to mess around with a quarterback who takes opposing secondaries duck hunting on long throws.