Put your Johnson away, you're a Freeman now!
The Josh Johnson experiment did not last long, as many sports writers predicted it wouldn't. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have already announced their rookie QB, Josh Freeman, will get his shot when they return from their Bye in week nine.
This makes the third quarterback new coach Raheem Morris has fed to the wolves this half-season. The veteran, Byron Leftwich, certainly didn't set the world on fire, but he was still outperforming guys like Shaun Hill, Marc Bulger, Brady Quinn Anderson, and Jake Delhomme. Now Morris has given the Gong Show hook to Josh Johnson, and is prepared to perhaps ruin his young rookie, by tossing him into the frying pan without non-stick cletes.
I can see the value in giving him a chance to learn in a lost game, but why put that kind of pressure on a rookie who does not have the supporting cast to help him progress?
Right now, the way the entire Bucs team is playing, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees would probably not last but a handful of games. Freeman's shot at QB certainly isn't going to make the team any worse this season, but it can certainly hurt them, and their future QB down the road.
Fantasy impact: None really. I don't expect much from Freeman this season, and the bye weeks are almost over. Any team digging this deep is already out of the playoffs anyway. Right now he doesn't even hold much value in keeper leagues because you only keep a certain number of players. Freeman could be a nice value in the next year or so, but for now, he's just an interesting bit of fantasy fodder with no upside in 2009. Just sayin'.
