With reports of the relationship between Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano and quarterback Josh Freeman starting to sour, rumors have circulated that the fifth-year quarterback could be seeking a trade to escape the disconnect between the two.
Freeman, 25, has ignored the rumors according to NFL.com.
"No, not at all," Freeman said per NFL.com when asked if he's seeking a new home. "The first I heard of it was literally 10 seconds ago, or right before I walked in here. Without a doubt I am a Buccaneer and am continuing to prepare and try and go out every week and give my team a chance to win the game."
Freeman and the Buccaneers (0-2) endured another painful loss Sunday, this time at the hands of the New Orleans Saints (2-0) after the team couldn't get it going offensively. The Saints defeated the Bucs 16-14 and Freeman was 9-for-22 while passing for 118 yards with one touchdown and one interception in the loss.
The Buccaneers have been hindered by bad penalties in their first two games of the season, which has haunted them.
First, it was Lavonte David drawing a bad flag in Week 1 when he pushed New York Jets rookie quarterback Geno Smith out of bounds and set up a game-winning field goal by Nick Folk with Tampa Bay just seconds away from victory. Sunday, it was a penalty on the offense that ended up costing the Buccaneers. Freeman's 75-yard touchdown pass to Vincent Jackson was taken away due to and illegal formation penalty on right tackle Demar Dotson.
Freeman and the Bucs didn't get too many offensive opportunities, so the scoring drive being negated by the penalty hurt the team in the long run. Despite the offensive struggles and reported disconnect with his coach, Schiano told reporters following Sunday's game that Freeman will most likely be under center when the Bucs take on the New England Patriots in Week 3 at Gillette Stadium.
"I see no reason why he shouldn't be," Schiano told NFL.com. "I'm going to have to look at the tape to see what's going on. It's just not the quarterback. It's squarely on me. I'm the head football coach, and when we're not doing things offensively that we're capable of doing -- mostly in the pass game... we have to look at what we're doing coaching-wise, what we're doing execution-wise, and, again, it falls on me. It doesn't fall on anybody else."
A video of Schiano discussing Freeman can be found here
Last season, Freeman had a 54.8 completion percentage and threw for 4,065 yards with 27 touchdowns and 17 interceptions while the Bucs finished fourth in the NFC South with a 7-9 record.
While Freeman has denied any trade rumors, CBS Sports reported that the Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans could all potentially be interested in landing Freeman through a trade should the option present itself.
Whether Freeman finishes the season in a Tampa Bay uniform is unknown, but amid talks of a possible falling out between him and Schiano, it's important that the Buccaneers put on a strong showing in New England Week 3 or the season could be doomed from the start.
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