Freeman Had Leverage; Bucs Blew Theirs
October 7th, 2013
The newest member of the Minnesota Vikings is getting paid.
Per ProFootballTalk.com, Josh Freeman, who will collect more than $8 million from the Bucs this season, is double-dipping to the tune of about $260,000 per game with the Vikings.
The financial commitment shows that Freeman will be given every chance to claim the job. For a full year, the pay projects to a base salary of $4.25 million. That’s more than twice Matt Cassel’s $1.65 million for the year. It’s nearly three times Christian Ponder’s base salary of $1.29 million.
This shows Freeman had leverage on the NFL market. There’s no way Minnesota rolls out that kind of cash if Freeman didn’t have multiple offers on the table.
It also illustrates just how badly the Bucs bungled the closing days of the Freeman circus. Freeman’s new contract is evidence he had trade value. If only the Bucs could have played their poker hand, rather than folding.
The New Schiano Order prides itself on managing, predicting and planning for details. They clearly were blindsided by what ensued when they decided to bench Freeman.
October 7th, 2013 at 7:19 am
The Vikings are reportedly trying to acquire Matt Schaub and Cam Newton so they can have the mediocre QB market all to themselves.
October 7th, 2013 at 7:22 am
Schiano can’t even prepare for the Cardinals. How can he figure out how the media works?
October 7th, 2013 at 7:27 am
Dominic needs to go and while your at it take your head coach selection with you. Complete the trifecta Glazers.
October 7th, 2013 at 7:31 am
Chalk it up to Freeman’s agent who trashed the Bucs through leaks and innuendos the week of Josh’s benching. The agent sure did earn his percentage with that contract he milked out of the Vikings.
October 7th, 2013 at 7:34 am
Dominic has to be one of the worst GMs in all of football you can start by the drafting of Freeman to the hiring of schiano……weird how the guy out in Oakland a former asst NFL coach and OC is winning games with Terelle Pryor as the qb and not half as much talen as what is here in Tampa
October 7th, 2013 at 7:35 am
Freeman had zero trade value. Everyone knew they were going to release him. Don’t confuse trade value with player negotiating power.
Before he was cut, all teams were given the chance. They were not stupid. They knew if the Bucs cut him he would be willing to take less money because the Bucs would still be paying him.
I do agree, Joe, that the Bucs were blindsided by the backlash of benching him. That’s Tampa fans for you. They complain that a player needs to be benched or cut, and when it happens they blame the team for giving up.
John Lynch was a perfect example. Fans complained the team was too old. That they needed “walkers” on the field. But when the team starter releasing the older guys, the fans complained. I think that’s why Dominick released 5 players right away when he took over. Kind of like yanking the band-aid off quick.
If I owned the team I would pay no attention to what the fans say. They are too easily swayed.
October 7th, 2013 at 7:37 am
ROCK STAR!….NOT
October 7th, 2013 at 7:40 am
This move shows Freeman had some value and that the GM got nothing for him. Freeman had to go so that when Glennon continues to loose Schiano won’t have Freeman looking at him on the sidelines. Schiano was determined to get his way and now he will have to live with his decisions. Ownership has been thoroughly embarrassed by the GM and coach at this point. Clean house Glazers!
October 7th, 2013 at 7:42 am
Follow the money…the release of medical info on Freeman put the Bucs in a very bad spot..but not Freeman.
Freeman is history, gone, departed, terminated, through, finished, vanished, elsewhere, SYONARA, ADIOS, AU-REVOIR, Auf WIEDERSHEN, CHEERIO, ADJO, ANTIO, DO SVIDANIYA, HASTA LA VISTA, BYE-BYE…. SO LONG Of course, Schiano would say CAIO!!!
October 7th, 2013 at 7:43 am
Being Ickles Says
“Dominic has to be one of the worst GMs in all of football you can start by the drafting of Freeman to the hiring of Schiano……weird how the guy out in Oakland a former asst NFL coach and OC is winning games with Terelle Pryor as the QB and not half as much talent as what is here in Tampa.”
Dominick has his faults but he’s not the worse. He’s among the best at managing cap money and structuring contracts. When it comes to talent evaluation that is usually a joint effort between the GM and the coaches.
In 2009 he had Raheem Morris to draw knowledge from. Both were rookies.
You really can’t judge Dominick for his first two drafts. Or three for that matter. The entire Morris era was a waste, with few exceptions. Just curious though, who do we still have from the Bruce Allen drafts? Not many if any.
Since the arrival of Schiano, the drafts have been better defensively. Even offensively, in part.
One thing remains the same…Dominick. It’s the coaches that changed. Keep in mind as well a GM cannot ignore the desires of his head coach. He might disagree with a choice and still have to take the pick the coach wants.
October 7th, 2013 at 7:44 am
I thought the General Manager was a rock star?
Up in flames, this season is. They all deserve to be fired.
October 7th, 2013 at 7:45 am
Until I’m convinced otherwise I believe it was Freeman’s agent that leaked the information. As TBF said…follow the money.
October 7th, 2013 at 7:48 am
Hey… that’s ALLLLLLLLL Dominik.
That’s our “rock star.”
October 7th, 2013 at 7:48 am
You are correct BuccaneerBonzai. So, is the “When does Freeman come out of the closet” question on the clock yet?
October 7th, 2013 at 7:53 am
I disagree that the Bucs “bungled” the Freeman Circus. At the end of this year, he would be a ‘Free Agent’ anyway. ‘Everyone’ knew the Bucs would not offer him a contract, nor put a franchise tag on him. They just had to wait til the end of the season for the same results. The Bucs ‘might’ have gotten a low round pick, but this way, they can look like the good guys by letting Freeman choose his own path. If you think about it, all the marbles were in Freemans’ hands from the start. I liked Freeman, but he’s no longer a Buc. “Go Glennon!”
October 7th, 2013 at 7:55 am
They lost leverage until freeman leaked his stage 1 drug testing
October 7th, 2013 at 7:56 am
They lost leverage WHEN Freeman leaked the stage 1 drug testing
October 7th, 2013 at 7:59 am
NFLPA won’t ever ‘fess up to a player or his agent leaking information to their benefit, would it?
October 7th, 2013 at 8:03 am
Freeman better hope he can find the same type of area as south tampa up in minneapolis
October 7th, 2013 at 8:04 am
The Question of” when do the idiots in Tampa realize that they just lost a franchise QB, over a bad coach with a worse offensive scheme.”?
They never will. Even when the Next QB starts getting blamed for the offenses failures!!
How many Probowlers on that offense?
Penn, Nicks, Joseph, Martin,.and Jackson! That’s almost half the offensive squad!!
Yet we can’t score, or win games? Everyone of those guys started against a makeshift, injured Cardinal defense!
And yet we lost! Who’s to blame for that one?
October 7th, 2013 at 8:07 am
Freeman running to ESPN and telling everyone he wanted a trade didn’t help the Bucs’ options either.
October 7th, 2013 at 8:11 am
Capt. Tim Says
“They never will. Even when the Next QB starts getting blamed for the offenses failures!!”
That’s not really fair, Capt. We are talking about Mike Lemon (Glennon) being the next QB here. Really. Do you think he’d do well even with the best coaches?
October 7th, 2013 at 8:11 am
Of course he had leverage.
The league knows what a disaster coach nut case is and evaluated Freeman’s declining stats accordingly.
The man has serious skills.
4000+ yards and 27 td’s don’t grow on trees. Damned hard to find. So is 25tds 6 int’s. Multiple fourth quarter comebacks. All this accomplished with lousy coaching on lousy teams.
Insanity. Absolute insanity.
October 7th, 2013 at 8:15 am
A franchise QB is hardly what Josh Freeman is. Can he be? Sure. But so can every other QB in the NFL. If Cassel plays well the next few weeks there is no guarantee he even starts. His and Cassel’s career numbers are remarkably similar with nearly the same amount of games played.
I really was hoping the Raiders were seriously stupid enough to sign Freeman as their insta-starter. We should have done whatever it takes to get Terrelle Pryor. Pryor is much better than Freeman at the moment, we would be 3-1 or 4-0 with Pryor starting from day 1 this year.
October 7th, 2013 at 8:17 am
As bad as the games have turned out, I still missed Bucs football this week. Anyone else?
October 7th, 2013 at 8:20 am
Of the group penn, nicks, Joseph, Martin and Jackson only Martin is having a good year.
That o-line is seriously overrated. Jackson has the dropsies.
But they should be able to put up more than eleven points a game.
But “talented” they really aren’t. Very few teams would trade their offensive squad for ours. And with Glennon in there none would.
October 7th, 2013 at 8:21 am
Here’s a question:
If Freeman does well there will be a cast off QB. Heck there might be multiples from multiple teams.
Do the Bucs sign any?
Personally, I wouldn’t mind Jimmy Clausen coming in as the #3 for the remainder of the year. I doubt he’d ever be a starter, but people are forgetting we also need a quality backup.
October 7th, 2013 at 8:23 am
Eric, I think Nicks is doing well. While true he has only been in two games thus far, he did fairly well all things considered. And the line is better with him in there. Still not great, but better.
I’m hoping his presence will raise the level of play on the oline.
October 7th, 2013 at 8:23 am
What could management have done? The only benefit a team would have to trade for Freeman is to not having to beat competing teams who want to sign Freeman also.
Schiano botched any sort of deal that was going to be made by giving the perception that Freeman was going to get cut if a trade wasnt going to be made. Obviously no one felt Freeman was the type of value that warranted a pick, and the Vikings felt they had a good shot at him in free agency.
To blame Dom is barking up the wrong damn tree.
October 7th, 2013 at 8:25 am
The Bucs offered to pick up Freeman’s entire tab if anyone would give them a handjob and nobody took them up on it. Everyone knew the Bucs were going to continue getting bombarded with stories until he was not on the roster anymore. Leverage is what it is.
Freeman’s agent did his job well and will be compensated with 2 contracts this year instead of one. He’s by far the biggest winner in all of this.
October 7th, 2013 at 8:28 am
BucsfaninChina says
“Schiano botched any sort of deal that was going to be made by giving the perception that Freeman was going to get cut if a trade wasnt going to be made.”
I agree with you that Dominick should not be blamed.
However I do not agree that Schiano botched a deal. Please show me where this happened? How did he give the impression?
Because all I saw was media supposition. This is a case of the media making false statements to such a large degree that it became reality.
October 7th, 2013 at 8:48 am
How does a Rockstar GM bungle this trade of his first ever draft pick?
Answer because, he’s a below average GM partnered with a amateurish Head Coach.
October 7th, 2013 at 8:49 am
Amamzing how the media completely ignores the Glazers role in the Bucs
11 year run of mediocrity to striaght up suckage.
Cheap coaches (Raheem and Schiano).
It all begins and ends at the top.
Think about it:
You’re the Glazers – International sports and real estate kingpins.
You own Man U, You live in Cali (most of the time).
What interest would you possible have in podunk Tampa?
Your Dad kind of became legally tied to the city when he pulled
off a win-win deal with the perennially bad creamsickles
but you’ve been completely unable to duplicate his success.
…mostly because you have bigger fish to fry.
Three NFL games in London next year.
Not saying the Glazers want to move the Bucs but they are
definitely looking for a way to make more money.
I wouldn’t recommend any media types chime in here.
It could detrimental to your employment.
Think about it:
What is the one common thread since 2002?
I’ll give you a hint – It’s not a coach or a player or a GM.
October 7th, 2013 at 8:56 am
Headsup…anyone that called Gerald McCoy a bust early on has no right to judge.
October 7th, 2013 at 8:57 am
“we would be 3-1 or 4-0 with Pryor starting from day 1 this year.”
You are joking right?
October 7th, 2013 at 8:57 am
Yeah, you can say the media put the thought out there that he would get cut, but if you dont let your QB dress and attend certain meetings and the GM is blasting every team with calls of trade talk, what are teams supposed to think then? Schiano and the Bucs did a horrendous job of showing Freeman had any value to the organization after he was demoted, and that is why we had zero leverage in any sort of deal.
October 7th, 2013 at 8:57 am
As long as Freeman was with the Bucs he was going to continue to leak BS to the press and the circus was going to continue. They had to get rid of him and get rid of him now. Maybe he’ll so well in Minnesota…who knows and who cares. He didn’t do well here. It’s so funny how many of you think Freeman deserved a contract extension after 5 years of losing but think Schiano should go after less than 2 seasons. Now that Freeman is gone, watch how the media circus drys up. All of the leaks, every one of them, will probably be traced back to Freeman’s agent.
October 7th, 2013 at 8:58 am
Now that the Vikes have succeeded in their bid to get Freeman, and they’re in the Victory Formation, shouldn’t Schiano send our Dline over there to dive at their knees and show effort on the last play…ya’know, as opposed to showing any effort on the first play. Isn’t that the new version of Buc Ball?
October 7th, 2013 at 9:03 am
I for one am, sick of the term”The New Schiano Order” this G.M. is like the elementary student competing against a high school student. Joe, maybe you can do a article on where the player’s are that have been drafted,,cut by this G.M., what the Buc’s got in return and who replaced them. Look what happen
with the Wright trade to the S.F. 49,when the Buc’s leaked the information that they were going to cut him anyway,cost the Buc’s a draft pick. The list goes on and on and now this Freeman Mess. The Buc’s leaked information on freeman,hoping no one would sign him,to justifie cutting him, back fired. No one to replace him and this coach is about to destroy this young Quarterback. This young man need the entire off season to be half way ready for the regular season. What a shame.
October 7th, 2013 at 9:03 am
@Bobby – Exactly! Every leak that came out was beneficial to Freeman getting cut and getting a double payday. Dirty business
October 7th, 2013 at 9:06 am
vdubguy Says:
October 7th, 2013 at 8:57 am
“we would be 3-1 or 4-0 with Pryor starting from day 1 this year.”
You are joking right?
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Have you watched him play this year? He has no offensive line and mediocre passing weapons, yet he’s getting better every week. At almost 70% completion (or 20% higher than Josh) with great wheels. The Bucs are almost 3-1 with the mediocrity we got from Freeman, so yeah, definitely not joking.
October 7th, 2013 at 9:14 am
This reeks of a total lack of leadership, a clear hallmark of the Schiano era. I’m starting to think that Dominik’s in over his head; he’s been reduced to merely doing Schiano’s bidding. It’s clear that the Bully is now running the show at One Buc.
October 7th, 2013 at 9:57 am
It became too much of a circus with him….Glazers were ok with finally deleting him from the roster….money is just money in this case.
October 7th, 2013 at 10:17 am
Just letting Freeman walk for zilch was a mistake. The ‘no team would trade for him b/c the Bucs were gonna cut him’ argument is ridiculous. If you trade for a guy, he’s your property. If Freeman hits the open market you’re competing with any number of teams to sign him. Reportedly, 10 teams were in the mix for his services. Hard to believe Dom couldn’t work a trade by pitting the Raiders and Vikings against one another. Bucs FO got played, again.
October 7th, 2013 at 10:21 am
Again, what trade? The Bucs offered to pay his salary for even a 7th round pick. Teams knew as long as Freeman was here, the distraction was only going to get bigger. When you have no leverage, you have no leverage. If the Bucs had to include a draft pick to trade Freeman (say Freeman and a 7th for a 6th), how is that any better than cutting him? Because we moved up 20 spots in the draft?
October 7th, 2013 at 10:31 am
Hard to argue against what you’re saying. My guess is that the possible trade value just wasn’t worth the continued distraction.
October 7th, 2013 at 10:31 am
“As long as Freeman was with the Bucs he was going to continue to leak BS to the press and the circus was going to continue.”
OK, so Free , or his agent, ‘leaked’ that he wasn’t allowed to practice with the team ?
Freeman sent himself to a box during a game ? Freeman HIMSELF, leaked his fines & what they were for ? All these this , at the very least, contributed to his lack of trade value & HAVE to be placed firmly on the little General’s head. This debacle has contributions from both sides, and if Freeman benefited most from it , more power to him. It was clear the Lil’ General wanted no part of him ( justified or not, your choice) so , at that point, the Kid had to get the best situation possible. He & his agent managed just that, does anyone really blame them ? Blame Free for bad play, sure, but for trying to survive this mess … I don’t.
October 7th, 2013 at 12:24 pm
The Bucs blew their leverage the minute they decided to NOT re-sign Freeman – even to a one year deal – and then drafted a rookie who is a better fit for whatever highschool offense Rutgers was running under Schiano.
You’re right – the Bucs BLEW their leverage.
What i want to know is – how do paid professionals lose their leverage to a 24 year old kid and an agent with absolutely ZERO history of pulling stunts like this? What you’re alleging is an unknown agent pulled a Drew Rosenhaus on an organization who doesn’t get caught with their pants down.
They under-estimated their adversary, under-valued the product, and over-estimated their ability to play their hand.
Ironically, that is EXACTLY the traits we see being played out every Sunday for the past 11 games.
October 7th, 2013 at 12:36 pm
Maybe the GM could use Freemans agent if the agent could get him almost what he is owed in tampa in salary some where then there is bad timing or not really trying to get a good deal for him. I am not sure bad timing was the issue teams know that they need to make changes and are constantly looking to do so. The Rockstar just signed his fate with that loss. They will need to turn it around down there or he is out of there.
October 7th, 2013 at 12:59 pm
In a high stakes game of Texas Hold Them, I want to be sitting across the table from the Glazer Boys, Dominick and the Little General.
I was ridiculed last year for suggesting that they trade Freeman after last season to KC for the #1 overall pick. At the time Geno was projected to go in the top 5. Even if KC was unable to part with that pick, they could have gotten a #1 or a package of draft picks from some team. One of those picks could have pried Mallett loose from NE.
Imagine, the Rockstar trading Freeman at his peak value and acquiring Mallett and Geno Smith while preserving the 3rd pick for a tight end? That’s what I’m talking about.
These guys are rank amateurs and they continue to get schooled by the pros.
October 7th, 2013 at 2:24 pm
So if Freeman again hits his below 50% completion rate and can not hit his receivers in stride in their #’s will all the poor Freeman bad coach/GM mob car pool is to the skyway and jump off.
Good luck to Freeman, he is gone.
LETS GO GLENNON!
October 7th, 2013 at 2:57 pm
Freeman may be gone, but we still have Schiano. Is the next chapter Sullivan is replaced by McNulty, the ex Rutgers coach?
October 7th, 2013 at 4:50 pm
Watch for the Vikings to roll into Tampa next year and rub it in our face. Just like Winslow did, just like Talib did, and Blount, Raheem and Tanard, and Bruce Allen have all done to us. A big pie in the face by beating the team that released them.
October 7th, 2013 at 4:54 pm
So, if a defense can figure out where the receivers are going to be, the receivers cut their routes short because they’re getting MUGGED well BEFORE getting there…
…whose fault is it – the QB (who’s being told to throw to a specific SPOT on the field), the Wide Receiver (Who’s supposed to GO to a specific SPOT on the field), the Tight End (that is on the line of scrimmage in MAX PROTECT), the Running Back who is sent into 6,7, or 8 in the BOX…
…or the Head Coach that keeps FORCING this insanity EVERY week?
You won’t get many more chances – because the blame game has already started – VJax knows his timein theleague is limited – he can produce if they get him the ball – if they can’t get him the ball – he will shut it down and let economics take over (i.e., GET PAID, REGARDLESS, or get traded, ‘cuz the owners ain’t gettin’ what they’re paying for).
Soon, your statue of a rookie will be getting NAILED, because the 6, 7, 8 men in the box will figure out that the little Running Back can’t keep them ALL out of the backfield – so your play action won’t work (because Glennon isn’t a trheat to run. They will also figure out that the O-Line was built to move, pull and trap – but the statue of a QB isn’t able to pull that off either.
An NFL defense has Tampa Bay at a disadvantage – they know the line wasn’t built for the QB we employ. They know the TE checkdown is non-existent – the QB isn’t advanced enough to read a clever blitz package – or IF the blitz is ON or not…
While the QB undergoes his NFL learning curve – we’re going to have to either get a LT in the upcoming draft, or a new QB…possibly a guard and quite possibly two – one to move to center to take over for X – because he’s passible as a zone-center – but a man-center, he ain’t.
See, LOTS more problems than just replacing a QB – you replaced a completely DIFFERENT TYPE of QB – completely different line concepts.
It’s not all Glennon – but it’s going to look like it’s ALL Glennon – quick…who does THAT sound like?
Sounds to me like the Head Coach outran his coverage.
October 7th, 2013 at 11:04 pm
@Just A Juggalo…….
“Imagine, the Rockstar trading Freeman at his peak value and acquiring Mallett and Geno Smith while preserving the 3rd pick for a tight end? That’s what I’m talking about.
These guys are rank amateurs and they continue to get schooled by the pros.”
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#1.Apparently you have inside knowledge that the Bucs didn’t shop Freeman for a draft pick? #2. Who in their right mind would trade a #1 pick
for a QB that over 5 yrs. has amassed a stunning 48.7 QB rating, a 58.2 completion % with 80 TD and 66 picks? Peak value??? Yeah….I’m giving up my #1 for that. Speaking of rank amateurs….your post qualifies.