FREEMAN ‘JAZZED UP’
Chance to be next Als QB
The latest in a long line of Alouettes’ quarterback saviours makes no promises he’ll actually be the one to save this team when the season begins.
Instead, Josh Freeman, a former first-round NFL draft choice, is content knowing it will be an open competition when the Als report for training camp in less than three months. And that Montreal will provide him with the opportunity to play his first legitimate football in more than two years.
“I like playing football. I like it a lot. You’re not going to get anything done unless you’re proactive. I want to play. I’ve got talent and am willing to work,” Freeman said on Monday at the team’s downtown business office, in Montreal to undergo a physical, see the facilities, do some interviews and take in the Canadiens’ game against Philadelphia before returning home to Kansas City, Mo., on Tuesday.
Freeman, an imposing 6-foot-6 and 240 pounds, signed a two-year contract with the Als on Jan. 12, coincidentally eight days before he was scheduled to work out for B.C. He was on the Als’ negotiation list last summer and worked out for the team at training camp. No contract was signed and Montreal released his rights. He was claimed by Ottawa, but when the Redblacks released those rights, Freeman was quickly snapped up again by the Als.
The 30-year-old was selected 17th overall by Tampa Bay in 2009, but when the Buccaneers started poorly in 2013, Freeman was benched, then subsequently released. He played one game for Minnesota later that season, another for Indianapolis in January 2016. And that has been it — unless you want to count a stint for the Brooklyn Bolts in something called the Fall Experimental Football League.
But there has never been a better time to be a quarterback in Montreal following the release of Darian Durant. Provided Freeman survives Florida mini-camp in April, his competition will come from Drew Willy, Matt Shiltz, Antonio Pipkin, Garrett Fugate and Nick Shafnisky. Head coach Mike Sherman and general manager Kavis Reed both publicly have said the competition’s open. Privately, they probably hope one of this group has a legitimate pulse.
The soft-spoken Freeman comes in with no swagger or promises, knowing Canadian football is new and he hasn’t played all that much lately — but determined to give the Als the best he’s got.
“I played for the Brooklyn Bolts. I like playing football,” he said. “Life’s about stepping out of your comfort zone, working hard and pushing. It’s a new beginning. I’m jazzed up, fired up about this opportunity. You’ll see a guy who’s full of energy, having fun, working hard and getting better with his teammates.
“I have way too much to learn to start addressing (his status). But having an open competition is how you get the best out of everybody. It pushes the energy. It adds a level of significance to practice. Every throw counts. Everyone’s pushing. Everyone’s a better player for it and the team’s better for it.”
Freeman, of course, arrives in Montreal with some baggage. A player doesn’t go from being a first-round NFL draft pick to an obscure league to the CFL without having garnered a reputation, justified or not. He admits suffering from mis guided energy when he was younger; being too immature to deal with adversity.
“I had a bunch of anger, frustration and disappointment. I should have taken that energy and turned it into something positive,” said Freeman, who has passed for 13,873 career yards along with 81 touchdowns.
“I could have played it a lot better, smarter. That’s what lessons are. I learned a lot about myself — who I was as a person and player. Moving forward, what do I want? What are the things that are important to me?”
And now he’ll get the chance to prove that.