Freeman could start for Bucs as a rookie

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Two months after drafting Josh Freeman of Kansas State as their quarterback of the future, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are not ruling out the prospect of him playing much sooner than expected.

Quarterbacks coach Greg Olson said, “it’s not out of the question” that Freeman takes the path that the Falcons’ Matt Ryan and the Ravens’ Joe Flacco took last year and starts as a rookie.

While veterans Luke McCown and Byron Leftwich remain the frontrunners, Freeman has shown enough during offseason workouts and this week’s minicamp that the Bucs are rethinking their stance on bringing him along slowly.

“I’m going to play the best guy,” Bucs coach Raheem Morris said. “I don’t want to give anybody anything. I want that quarterback to take it.”

Freeman was the 17th player selected in the draft after a standout career at K-, where Morris was defensive coordinator during Freeman’s freshman year.

“I’m definitely a competitor, and I want to play and win the job,” Freeman said.

”But at the same time, I understand that it’s about winning football games. It all depends on how well I develop. And right now, I’m doing everything I can to get in that position to compete.

“It’s not my decision as to whether or not I’m going to play. I’m just going to try and give them every reason to play me.”

| Star News Services

Posted on Thu, Jun. 18, 2009 11:01 PM

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