Last night Josh Freeman was likely sitting at home with a Brian Hoyer voodoo doll, poking needles into his knee in hopes of getting at chance with the Cleveland Browns. It appears to have worked because Hoyer left in the middle of the game with a knee injury. As the Hoyer injury appears serious and Brandon Weeden still not capable of being a starting quarterback, could Freeman be an option after getting released from Tampa Bay?
ESPN's Adam Schefter is reporting an MRI on Friday is expected to confirm Hoyer has a torn ACL and is done for the season. Hoyer suffered the injury less than five minutes into the Browns' Thursday night game against the Buffalo Bills. The quarterback left on crutches, unable to put any weight on his right leg. The injury was originally ruled a sprain but now appears to be more serious.
Weeden stepped into the starting role after the injury and threw for 197 yards and a touchdown in the win. The quarterback had gone from starter to third string after injuring his thumb.
"You hate to see it," Weeden said, via ESPN.com. "You hate to see it because he's a teammate, a friend, and he was helping this team win. I just tried to be as positive as I could, and he was in there celebrating when we won."
So what happens now? The Browns are clearly not committed to Weeden. The quarterback even said he understood he was not guaranteed a starting role after getting healthy. Cleveland appeared ready to move on with Hoyer after the backup won two games for the team. The chances they take a look at Freeman after this hit could be pretty high.
Freeman is officially free from the Tampa Bay drama. The Buccaneers announced Thursday they were releasing the quarterback after weeks of drama. He is officially on waivers, meaning a team could take him on. The issue for Freeman will likely be his contract. The quarterback is due of $6 million in salary at the end of the season. Any team that takes him on will have to pay him big bucks. At this point in the season, would Cleveland make that move?
It's highly unlikely that the Browns will reach out to Freeman. The team is stocking up on draft picks to prepare for next April. With Hoyer likely out, they could be poised to have a decent spot in the draft. 2014 is stocked with quarterbacks and the Browns could make their move then.
Is Freeman better than Weeden? The former Buccaneers quarterback has had flashes of success. In 2010, he threw for 3,451 yards and 25 touchdowns with just six interceptions. He followed that up with 39 turnovers the next two years, but 2010 was enough to show that he is worth something. Weeden tossed for 3,385 yards last season and 14 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Not great.
Both quarterbacks have failed to lead their team to any success. The Browns will stick with Weeden and Jason Campbell as their two quarterbacks. Freeman will sit at home for the remainder of the year. Now if Weeden goes down with an injury, all bets are off.
