October 14, 2012; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback
Josh Freeman(5) Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
As staff writer Ken pointed out, the job of the media over the summer in the NFL world is to get quotes to generate buzz and make controversy out of nothing. The Buccaneers already suffered from this earlier in the offseason when Greg Schiano “told reporters” that he was looking to start Mike Glennon over Josh Freeman, or at least that’s what was drawn from an innocent quote about inspiring competition across the team.
So why wouldn’t the Buccaneers keep the routine going, and have another prominent member of the franchise giving a quote that can be twisted and abused by the media? Josh Freeman did just that on local Tampa radio this week, telling the Ron and Ian show that he’d be “content” if he were to leave the Buccaneers next summer.
Or at least that’s what’s being quoted in convenient, social media sized bites of misinformation.
Here is the full quote, as posted to NFL.com’s Around the League:
"“I’m excited about getting this year going,” Freeman told WDAE-FM. “It has nothing to do with … a contract year, finding out, oh, is he signed for this? What happened? I know God has got a plan for me, it’s all going to work out in the end.“If I just give it the best I’ve got regardless … if I give it the best I’ve got and the Buccaneers say, ‘Ah, we don’t think he can play for us,’ at the end of the year and every other team in the NFL does and I end up wherever I end up doing whatever, I’ll be content because I’ll know I gave it the best I had.”"
Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
This is not the proper venue to share religious beliefs, but if you subscribe to a religion or faith that worships or follows a deity that you believe has control of everything that happens, this kind of comment is much, much more metaphysical than just talking about depth charts and contracts. Josh Freeman is stating the same thing that many Americans say when they’re unsure about their future job situation. Job security isn’t up to the employee, because ultimately the status of Josh’s Buccaneers’ future is up to Mark Dominik and Greg Schiano.
Josh Freeman is confident that he’s going to give the Buccaneers his best effort in 2013, and I have every reason to believe him. Freeman gives a glimpse into his faith in these comments, but allow me to quote the wise philosopher Drake who once said “I’m the type to say a prayer, and then go get what I just prayed for.” In Freeman’s case, the starting job for the Buccaneers and a huge contract are a season away, and he can have all the faith he wants, but he also has the talent and skill to prove his own faith correct.
But I don’t see anything in this quote that implies Freeman wants to leave. I just see a young man who is confident that his life is about more than just being a football player. So in the media circus of the NFL offseason, don’t allow the clown with the big red nose to distract you from the actual talent on display. Josh Freeman has talent and he has confidence. He has to put those together on the field in 2013, so all of this offseason chatter proves to be nothing more than traffic for websites and ratings for TV shows.