Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano benched quarterback Josh Freeman in favor of starting Mike Glennon. With Glennon an unproven rookie, the Bucs could find themselves in 2014 with Johnny Manziel or Teddy Bridgewater starting under center.
There were hints throughout the year that Freeman's time in Tampa was coming to an end: Schiano saying Glennon would get a lot of preseason reps, Freeman not getting voted as a captain, Schiano saying Freeman was late to meetings. The latest, Freeman's performance through three games (43/94, 571 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs), was the final nail in the coffin.
Schiano and Bucs general manager Mark Dominik made the switch at quarterback on Wednesday, USA Today Sports reports.
"The main thing for us was the performance of the team the last nine games was 1-8 and that's tough," Dominik told USA Today Sports on Wednesday. "He hasn't played well. That's a part of it. If you don't have a quarterback in this league, you don't have a shot. We felt like we'd seen enough of what we needed to see."
Tampa would also be willing to trade Freeman, for the right offer.
Enter Glennon. The rookie third-round draft pick played at N.C. State, where he most notably supplanted Russell Wilson as starting quarterback, Pro Football Talk reported. Glennon, six-foot-seven with a strong arm, was Schiano's hand-picked quarterback.
Dominik said the switch was made now so Glennon could start one game and then, because of the bye week, have two weeks to study the tape. With a strong defense and an offense powered by running back Doug Martin, Glennon would simply have to manage the game.
It's also unlikely any locker room drama will come from the switch.
"The Bucs team captains were informed of the decision Wednesday and many of them saw it coming and didn't disagree with it," Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times wrote on Wednesday. "The locker room is not expected to be divided."
With Freeman's contract expiring after this season, Schiano had nothing to lose by starting Glennon - the Bucs either grab a couple wins behind the rookie or they get to evaluate whether he's a quarterback to build around next season. If the Bucs continue to lose with Glennon under center, the team would get a high draft pick, which could be used on another potential franchise quarterback - such as Manziel or Bridgewater.
Both college quarterbacks are expected to declare for the 2014 NFL draft, where they'll likely be the top signal callers of their class with Bridgewater possibly going No. 1 overall. Freeman wasn't the answer in Tampa, and it's yet to be seen whether Glennon is. If the Bucs are unable to improve upon their 0-3 record, Schiano could start looking ahead to 2014.
