Freeman picks Vikings as destination for his reclamation

The Minnesota Vikings appeared to further cut the cord with third-year QB Christian Ponder Sunday night when it was announced that they signed Tampa Bay castoff Josh Freeman.

Reports suggest that Freeman signed a one-year deal for around $3 million.

Ponder’s future already seemed in question when the 0-3 Vikings turned to Matt Cassel and emerged from London with a win that kept the season at least on life support.

While coach Leslie Frazier announced that Ponder would still be his starter when he returned to health, it’s been widely speculated that the coach would stick with Cassel until he faltered, using the rib injury as an excuse to keep Ponder on the bench. Honestly I thought the Vikings would pass on Freeman in deference to Ponder’s feelings and his confidence – they’ve not exactly taken to the “tough love” approach with their 2011 top pick before now.

In signing Freeman, they get a guy who has not been good in 2013, but who also has a tremendous amount of upside, as illustrated during a two-and-a-half month stretch of the 2012 season during which I was convinced he was developing into a solid QB.

This signing is low-risk for Minnesota. Ponder has already proven to most of the public that he’s not the guy. And Cassel is what he is – a stopgap who’s likely to spend the bulk of his career bouncing around from team to team as a top backup teams aren’t afraid to use when their starters get hurt.

And Freeman gets half a season to show the Vikes that he still can be more stud than dud – that his free fall had as much or more to do with shortcomings of coach Greg Schiano and less to do with his own alleged immaturity and poor study habits. He gets a chance to show Minnesota that they don’t have to pick a QB in the early rounds of the 2014 draft (though I personally think they should regardless of how Freeman plays).

When word emerged that Tampa Bay was cutting the cord on Josh Freeman, it ended a stunning one-year free fall for a guy who looked midway through just last season like he was about to emerge as the star the Bucs expected him to be when they drafted him 17^th overall in 2009.

Take a look at the stats (courtesy of NFL.com) Freeman generated during an eight-game, nine-week stretch in 2012. It had me convinced he and the Bucs were on the brink of something good.

Pay particular attention during that stretch to weeks six through 10, when Freeman completed 58 percent of his 154 passes for 1,467 yards and 13 touchdowns with just one interception. During that stretch the Bucs were 4-1 and looked like a sleeper playoff team.

Freeman then stumbled against Carolina, still putting up decent numbers, but throwing two picks and rebounded in a close loss to Atlanta with a 90.4 rating.

Since that game, Freeman has been a disaster both on the field and, reportedly, off, missing team photos, playing poorly and not getting along with the coach.

I’m not in any way suggesting that the Vikings have finally found the next Fran Tarkenton or even Daunte Culpepper with this signing.

http://www.nfl.com/player/joshfreeman/79557/gamelogs?season=2012

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/CulpDa00.htm

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/TarkFr00.htm

I am saying that it isn’t all that long ago – less than a year – when Freeman was being celebrated for his development and for his leading the team to the brink of playoff contention. This is the perfect gamble for a Vikings team that has put itself behind the eight ball with its slow start.

Reportedly there were 10 teams that showed at least some interest in Freeman. Minnesota wins this mini-lottery, getting a low-risk look at a guy who could be the long-term fix to its growing Christian Ponder problem. And if Freeman’s ego gets in the way or the slide in his on-field performance continues, cut him loose with little loss.

This was a no-brainer.