Freeman Leaks Not From One Buc
November 14th, 2013
It has been awfully quiet recently over at One Buc Palace. Quiet in that there has been little to no drama.
This welcome change came right about the time leaky, sleepy former franchise quarterback Josh Freeman was thrown off the team. Joe has stated many times this is no coincidence.
Joe remembers all the vile and nasty things allegedly sprouting out of One Buc Palace, often dealing with Freeman, whose camp instantly would Twitter how the Bucs were leaking information to sully the reputation of their prized client and that there will be hell to pay with the NFLPA (nevermind that Freeman’s play would ever stain his reputation. #Sarcasm).
Well, the cat is out of the bag. While making his weekly appearance with the one and only Chris “Mad Dog” Russo on the show that bears his name, “Mad Dog Unleashed,” heard exclusively on SiriusXM Radio, Tampa Tribune NFL writer eye-RAH! Kaufman assured Russo that the leaks about Freeman were not coming from Enigma-like coded messages at One Buc Palace.
When discussing the Dolphins/Richie Incognito/Jonathan Martin issue and how so many NFL investigations whither and die on the vine without finding any information, Kaufman segued into the NFLPA study as to who was leaking Freeman’s confidential information to the fourth estate.
eye-RAH! Kaufman: Some of these investigations, Chris, it’s amazing how they dissolve into nothing. I’m going to give you an example: Remember when [Chris] Mortensen reported about six weeks ago about Josh Freeman and he was in that drug program? Chris, the next thing you know [NFLPA director] DeMaurice Smith is on the next flight down here to Tampa. There’s a big grandstand in front of the cameras. “We are going to conduct a thorough investigation! We will find out who leaked this information, this private information.”
Chris, you’re going to never going to hear one further word about that. And I’m going to tell you why: My information — and it’s pretty solid — is the Bucs didn’t release that. It didn’t come from One Buc Place. I think it came from Freeman’s own camp. …
Chris “Mad Dog” Russo: I agree, I agree.
Kaufman: And as a result of that Chris, the union doesn’t like where that leads and [the leaks] might have come with Freeman’s expressed knowledge. And you are never going to hear anything about it.
Now Joe has to confess he has heard strong rumors to this effect, but could never get anyone to go on record with this so Joe just tucked the information under his cap. Now that eye-RAH! has spilled the beans, Joe feels compelled to share that he gathered similar information and understands the Bucs were furious at the accusations and eagerly welcomed an NFLPA investigation to clear everyone’s name at One Buc Palace.
And as eye-RAH! suggested, if the NFLPA finds it was Freeman and/or his camp who were planting stories, they are not going to out one of their own and drag one of their members through the mud. That just won’t happen.
Sometimes, silence is deafening.
November 14th, 2013 at 8:15 am
I always felt it was Freeman’s camp that released the information. They had the most to gain by releasing it.
November 14th, 2013 at 8:21 am
Sometimes it’s better to just say nothing at all….
Anyway, the Miami investigation will go the same way, Martin does not want the truth “Coming out of the closet….”
November 14th, 2013 at 8:21 am
Well, well, well.
I was not alone in predicting that it came from Freeman’s people. It was pretty obvious, if you weren’t attached to his jock like a prepubescent fanboy.
November 14th, 2013 at 8:23 am
@Joe
Can OBP file a claim for the balance of his salary over this (after he files the onetime exemption for it)?
November 14th, 2013 at 8:48 am
finally the pop-star was right about something, ” it was all about #5. “
November 14th, 2013 at 8:53 am
Freemanites, it is disgusting to me that you still put the blame on the Bucs. Is this is the kind of person you think could be a franchise QB? I doubt we will be hearing from any of you today.
November 14th, 2013 at 8:54 am
Rafael must be devastated that his hero is nothing but fugazi
November 14th, 2013 at 8:54 am
Josh Freeman ruined our season, on the field with his play, and sabotaged it off the field.
What a “Franchise QB”.
A**Hole is getting backup money this year, because he is a WIMP.
Let Incognito bully his azz into shape.
November 14th, 2013 at 9:08 am
If we can win 4 or 5 more games, in spite of Freeman, I will love it.
What a baby!
Always knew the kid had not stones, marbles or heart.
November 14th, 2013 at 9:13 am
As I always said, what a moron.
November 14th, 2013 at 9:16 am
What about Duemig! He still claims one buc was the source of the leaks. He is so butt hurt because they got rid of his boyfriend Freebow! He is sooo wrong all the time why does he still have a job?
November 14th, 2013 at 9:21 am
It may die quietly for now but other teams, especially GMs, will take notice. Freeman and his camp will be lucky to find a back-up gig next season. It’s disappointing how this is shaking out…I was rooting for the kid. It’s becoming clear that he really has lost it along the way. Nice to have it behind us, glad he wasn’t extended last off-season.
November 14th, 2013 at 9:23 am
@Oil Derrick Brooks….yep. He wanted out and it was just like we said, the best way to get out was to cause a crap storm with all the rumors. I think Freeman is done in the NFL after all of this. Nobody wants that kind of malcontent in the locker room.
November 14th, 2013 at 9:24 am
It’s funny that people would rely on sources from WITHIN the Bucs to discredit a report that would have negative consequences ON the Bucs. All it would have taken was one person with knowledge to leak it – and if that person was acting alone, nobody would know except him/her.
The didn’t have to be a team directed attempt at smearing Freeman for the leak to have generated from with One Buc Place.
We’ll likely never know.
November 14th, 2013 at 9:42 am
Of course it was Freeman.
Just look how quick the statement was released after the Mortensen report. It was within 30 min and was four paragraphs long.
I didn’t know Freeman but I have a hard time believing Freeman could put together four paragraphs in a day let alone 30 min.
November 14th, 2013 at 9:42 am
Maybe the media can put some pressure on NFLPA to publicly reveal the findings of this investigation. It might put an end to such tactics.
November 14th, 2013 at 9:49 am
Joe –
“Now Joe has to confess he has heard strong rumors to this effect, but could never get anyone to go on record with this so Joe just tucked the information under his cap.”
Why do you keep contradicting yourself? You’ll write when you have anonymous sources, then say you don’t like “anonymous” sources. Then tell us after the fact – in a situation like this when someone else reported from they own sources – that you knew this all along but wouldn’t write about it.
We’re not going to think you’re not plugged in if you don’t report on a something like this. You don’t have to tell us that you knew this all along.
You’re reading way too much into what Joe wrote. –Joe
November 14th, 2013 at 9:59 am
I posted that it was Freeman’s camp many times, but the only storis that were written here is how ths could come from Bucs and schiano. Schiano is coach he wants to bench his QB he will especially when job is on the line.. Why would he have to bad mouth a player who forced the issue of being benched from his play.
cant wait to hear what the vikings say bad about him.. that will force him to leave that great high class organization..
November 14th, 2013 at 10:03 am
Greg Schiano:
“I am not a crook! Hmmmppff!”
November 14th, 2013 at 10:04 am
I think most people with common sense knew this and I think that YOU Joe and anyone in the Media should demand what the NFLPA found out. Why wouldn’t BSPN and eveyone else demand an answer?? If they know Freeman’s camp leaked it then everyone should know that.
November 14th, 2013 at 10:08 am
Joe,
Wasn’t the last thing the NFLPA mentioned that it was Schiano?? or was that the media doing its thing.
November 14th, 2013 at 10:09 am
When you analyze the possible outcomes from who best benefits from leaking the information, you’d have to be pretty blind to not see why Freeman and his agent would leak the information. They had everything to gain and nothing to lose. People will say Josh’s reputation, I’ll say Ray Lewis, Leonard Little, Dante Stallworth etc, etc, etc. Character and reputation mean nothing in the NFL, results on Sunday do.
November 14th, 2013 at 10:19 am
Kudos to you Joe, for posting an article about the truth. When the accusations where flying, everyone was reporting, We will know see how many “media” will report the truth.
November 14th, 2013 at 10:22 am
And the truth will set you free. Freeman wanted out when he didn’t paid in the offseason. With that exercise in lack of strategic thinking combined with his normal poor performance in MN, he’s likely done as a starting QB. But hey, who cares if you can ride the pine and collect millions, right??
It really made no sense for that to come from the Bucs. It would only serve to create a negative impression of the organization. The organization did the right thing by getting rid of their ‘office cancer’.
November 14th, 2013 at 10:34 am
Bingo! givemeball! Everyone was quick to drag OBP through the mud!
November 14th, 2013 at 10:42 am
Josh Freeman is a bitch.
November 14th, 2013 at 10:50 am
Anytime a player goes through what Freeman went through, the agents do there best to spin it for their client. If the agent believes his client was wronged, he would have been all over the media. That did not happen. We didn’t hear a thing from his agent until the so called leak. That whole Freeman camp is a train wreck!
November 14th, 2013 at 10:51 am
We may disagree with his coaching techniques but I always felt Schiano was a man of integrity in personal relationships and as a representative of the organization. Never thought it came from him or the Bucs.
November 14th, 2013 at 11:21 am
Chris:
Joe was told this information in confidence meaning, it doesn’t leave the room. With one person, it’s just a rumor. With more than one, there’s substance. But Joe agreed to keep the information in confidence. Once Kaufman went public on a popular national radio show with similar information, then Joe felt compelled to run with what he also knew.
Very much like the time Joe learned Brian Price punched Mark Barron in the face. Same thing there. Joe learned this in confidence. Once Charlie Campbell of Walter Football ran with it, Joe felt compelled to add what he knew since the info was already made public.
November 14th, 2013 at 11:37 am
Wasted 1st round draft pick. Even last year, tens of millions of dollars (“it’s all about #5”), they were still investing in him. What a waste of 5 years and tons of money. Dom’s pick set the team back for years to come.
November 14th, 2013 at 11:46 am
Joe’s worst fear when Freeman was drafted.
November 14th, 2013 at 11:49 am
Just wish I could manage to care. Reading about Josh, is like reading about World War One. It was a nasty fight- but doesn’t really affect me now.
He’s a Viking.
Another wasted First round pick by Dom.
Just more tragic Buc History.
I’m a lot more wrapped around Glennons future. Can he be the Guy??
I gotta admit- with apologies to The Glennon mob-
He might be “the Guy”
He just might.
November 14th, 2013 at 11:52 am
Womp womp!
Lol All those bitter Freemanites and posters coming after Schiano with unfounded garbage sure feel stupid now I’m sure.
If you don’t support him because he had done a horrible coaching job than fine that’s understandable but don’t come after the man’s integrity with some all this personal made up nonsense.
That was the only argument both TBBF and I kept having for Schiano.
Keep it to football
November 14th, 2013 at 1:05 pm
“Joe’s worst fear when Freeman was drafted.”
Same here. But, I just hoped for the best. 2010 made me think that I was wrong. We all know the rest….
November 14th, 2013 at 1:38 pm
I knew it was Freeman from the moment he decided to do that interview. It all made sense. It was all a well thought out plan in advance. Horrible start to the season, he gets benched, less than 24 hours he takes an interview claiming he’s going to “try his best” then turns around in the same interview and says he wants a trade. It was all lies and BS. I was very disappointed. As I said many times I never liked Freeman as a QB but I never once questioned his character or his attitude towards the team. This was a whole new side of him.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:58 pm
Who cares anymore? Still doesn’t change the fact Schiano is a douche and a bad losing coach who needs to go. Plus this only tells me Dominick is a major push-over to whoever the head coach is. How did he get roped into drafting Freeman in the first place if there was any doubt about his dedication or play? Raheem must be a fast talker and a damn good salesman, I guess. Sure hope these two are nowhere near the Bucs draft table come May.
November 14th, 2013 at 2:05 pm
quite frankly kaufman is very pro schiano so this does not mean anything. All it takes is one person. This literally means nothing.
November 14th, 2013 at 2:40 pm
Why does he have to say Chris in every sentence? This isn’t the first time either
November 14th, 2013 at 2:58 pm
I said at the time the Bucs had no motivation to leak this story and Freeman has plenty of motivation to leak it. He didn’t want to be traded to a team with a secure quarterback (like Green Bay or NE) where he would be guaranteed to be a back up for the next ten years! And he wanted to double dip on his salary which he did to the tune of $3 million. Mob psychology took over as the tragedy of having to face the fact that Freeman was a bust caused people to look for a scapegoat. In the ancient times, they called it “ritual bloodletting”.
November 14th, 2013 at 3:09 pm
Crayhopper finally got it right. The “leaking” of this information cost the Bucs any chance of getting anything for him. What motivation would the Bucs have to do this?? They don’t even want to get a 4th for him. By Freeman’s camp releasing this he was able to get an additional 3 million dollars and stick it to the Bucs (and possibly getting Schiano in trouble as well). Before I hear again that the Bucs released the info I need to hear a credible argument as to why they did. Give me a motive because there is none. If they wanted to get rid of the guy they could have done that at any time without releasing anything.
November 14th, 2013 at 3:13 pm
So because Ira comes out with it all of the sudden its true? Who is his source? The Bucs front office? Are they going to admit it was them who leaked it? No alright then.. Will Freeman’s side admit they leaked it? No okay then.. Seriously Joe that sounds so Bush League coming from you.. Oh because a Bucs front office employee is my source it it MUST BE TRUE.. Get real dude
Personally who gives a shit who leaked the info? If he didn’t “leak it” or “sabotage our season”(how on earth you call it sabotage JOE when SCHIANO CHOSE to stick with Freeman to start our season.. Freeman didn’t push Geno out of bounds..Freeman didn’t pick the play against the Saints in the fourth to run it? Freeman didn’t throw 2 picks to the Cardinals? Freeman didn’t pick a run play straight into the D or a DEEP PASS.. Yes Freeman had terrible pocket presence this year and a horrendous accuracy but then again who hired the QB coach that doesn’t teach mechanics..Hint Schiano did) then guess what we would STILL have Schiano next year(we still might ..ugh ) Anyone with half a brain knows he is a terrible coach.. Takes him what 33 games(including preseason) to realize D Line stunts don’t work? Mold your schemes to your players not the other way around?
Seriously for all the “Freemanites” there are just as many “Freeman Haters” you guys weren’t saying he was waste of a draft pick in 2010 or that 4 or 5 game stretch last year when he looked like a top 10 QB.. I get you’re a fan of the BUCS but damn do you hate every player that leaves for one reason or another?
November 14th, 2013 at 3:42 pm
Who cares about Freeman anything? This topic may as well be ancient history. Like a bad nightmare, I just want to forget it all. Freeman who?
November 14th, 2013 at 4:52 pm
sadly all that will be remembered is what was blared in the press for weeks, that the bucs were inexplicably hurting their credibility with current and future players by vindictively dragging josh freeman through the mud. any assumption i had of josh freeman as a high character individual have been erased. hopefully the outcome is discreetly shared with other NFL teams and the bucs’ name has been cleared in the circles that matter. if this was done with freeman’s blessing he should have a hard time getting another job. tebow went from popular backup to potential CFL player for far less than this…tebow was an inadvertent distraction who was also bad at his job. Freeman is a guy who tried to stick a knife into a coach and franchise while also being bad at his job. obviously teams don’t collude because that’s illegal (wink, wink), but if they did they should all agree that freeman’s NFL career is over. he has proven he is not above torpedoing his own team, NFL players and their agents need to know team owners won’t abide those sorts of games. clearly the NFLPA and agents won’t police their own
November 14th, 2013 at 4:55 pm
for all the “who cares?” comments, we the fans should care. the question raised by all of this supposed misbehavior by bucs management was “who would ever want to play for the bucs after this?”. well, if the bucs were victims of a mudslinging campaign by a player and agent we are still an organization players might want to join. if the team perpetrated this, the darelle revis’ and vincent jacksons of the world probably aren’t taking our phone calls when they become available
November 14th, 2013 at 6:06 pm
Freeman was a Raheem pick first and foremost. Go back to the statements made immediately following the draft that year. It was clear that Raheem “stood on the table” or “pounded the table”, or something like that, on behalf of Freeman being their pick. He admitted he was Freeman’s biggest advocate in the draft room, by far. Because of his connections with Freeman from Kansas State, and because he was a new head coach and wanted this guy more than any other draft pick, he was given the benefit of the doubt.
If Dominik gets fired it won’t be because of Freeman, that’s for sure. Personally I don’t see him getting fired at all. In fact, I don’t think Schiano gets fired either if he gets 3-4 more wins this season. Deal with it.
November 14th, 2013 at 6:25 pm
Think about it, Dominick worked years and years to finally be a GM. The pinnacle of his profession, after late hours upon late hours working his way up the ladder.
Finally, his moment to shine. And what does he do for his first draft, when he needs to define his imprint on the team, and drafts a franchise QB?
He defers the pick to a first time ever head coach with zero months experience as a college scout or evaluator of talent. I would fire him for that alone. Complete MORON.
The team will be mediocre as Dominick is…Fire the Teflon Dom. We wasted 5 years because he gave in to that other moron, Raheem.
November 17th, 2013 at 6:50 pm
There was indeed a cancer growing at one Buc place. I would venture to say it was the root of many of the ills that were surrounding the team. It is no coincidence as has been noted, that all the drama and rumors swirling around the team mysteriously stopped once Freeman left. I guess the question begs, if this guy was such a negative influence on the organization, why was it allowed to fester for so long? To me that is unconscionable.