Josh Freeman Not Necessarily Second-String Quarterback After Losing Starting Job

Josh Freeman was already knocked down a peg when he lost the starting quarterback job in Tampa. It looks like he actually might have been knocked down a few more pegs than he thought.

Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano refused to call Freeman the backup quarterback to newly minted starter Mike Glennon, or to even say Freeman will be active when the ball gets teed up on Sunday afternoon. When asked the relatively simple question of whether Freeman will be assigned as the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart, Schiano went to old “you bad media people are creating distractions” route.

“I just feel like this has been a focus all week,” Schiano said, according to ESPN.com. “I’m not going to go there. Ninety minutes before the game, I’m going to name who our 46 active players are. I’m locked in now and our team is locked in. I’m done discussing all that other stuff.”

Earlier in the week, Schiano said while promoting Glennon that Freeman would serve as the backup. This would be the second time in the span of a week that the Bucs coach said one thing about Freeman only to flip-flop a couple of days later. Schiano said he fully supported Freeman as the team’s starter on Monday, then announced his benching on Wednesday.

Lesson: Whatever Schiano says, believe exactly the opposite.