During the NFL draft a lot of fancy buzzwords get thrown around by analysts, bloggers, fans and, well, pretty much anybody watching the annual selection meeting. Smoke screen, reach, tweener, value ... you get the idea. When it comes to smoke screens, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers attempted to use one of their free-agent signings in an effort to hide their interest in eventual first-round pick, quarterback Josh Freeman. That is, if we believe Freeman.Appearing in an NFL.com chat after being selected by the Bucs, Freeman claimed that the Tampa Bay front office informed him that its two-year deal with free agent quarterback Byron Leftwich was nothing more than a giant ruse.
From the chat:
Oh yeah. I felt that all along. Even when they picked up Byron Leftwich. It was something they told me -– they told me it was a smoke screen, everybody would think they didn't want a QB. They said they were ready to trade up. I think it worked out great. I was sitting there with my family and enjoying it, and I got to go to the team that I wanted to go to.The Buccaneers selected Freeman on Saturday with the 17th-overall pick after dealing their first-round pick (19th overall) and their sixth-round pick to the Cleveland Browns.
Some folks, like Mike Florio over at PFT, are suggesting that Leftwich should be looking for answers regarding the situation. I'm not sure I agree. Regardless of their intentions, it's still possible, if not likely, that Leftwich will open the season as the Buccaneers' starting quarterback. There's no question that Freeman has the size, tools, talent and everything else needed to become a great quarterback in the NFL, but there's also some risk with him. Heading into this weekend, a lot of analysts considered him as the quarterback with the highest upside, but also the biggest downside. He might be the classic boom-or-bust player. Is he really going to walk into training camp and win the starting job from day one?
Not likely.
Instead, the Buccaneers will probably let Leftwich and Luke McCown fight for the starting spot through training camp, allowing Freeman to take some time to watch from the sidelines and develop his skills. At least, that's what they should do. The success of Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco a season ago is the exception, not the rule, when it comes to rookie quarterbacks playing in the NFL. As long as the Buccaneers have some veteran options to get them through the season, there's no need to throw Freeman to the wolves right from the start.
