Dwight Freeney, the newest member of the San Diego Chargers defense, was very vocal recently in support of how the Chargers plan to use him in 2013, and seemed to take some shots at his former team, the Indianapolis Colts, who elected to not re-sign the franchise leader in sacks.
Freeney, who recorded 107.5 sacks as a Colt, was shifted to outside linebacker last season, and he looked lost and uncomfortable all year. He recorded only five sacks in 2012 and was let go in the offseason.
Now in San Diego, Freeney is going to be deployed as an edge rusher once again, a role in which he feels very comfortable.
"I think the biggest thing was that, he was going to allow me to do a little bit of what I do," Freeney said. "It wasn't, 'Dwight, here, we're going to take you and put you in this thing and do things that you're not used to doing.' He said, 'You know what, we're going to put you in place to make plays, in familiar places, so that you're comfortable and you can just ball out.'"
He went on to specify what he mean exactly by "ball out." "Not a lot of times am I going to be in reverse, you know, backpedaling, going away from the guy with the ball, but I'm sure there will be times when I have to do it," Freeney said. "Hopefully the blitz will get there. I'm going to have fun with it."
Freeney didn't receive a ton of interest this offseason, but the Chargers came calling when last year's top pick, Melvin Ingram, suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament that will likely sideline him for the entire year. San Diego also lost linebackers Antwan Barnes and Shaun Phillips to free agency.
Freeney's deal is for two years and is worth $13.35 million. "We'll see what happens, but I feel good and I'm glad to be here," Freeney said.
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