Breaking: Josh Freeman signs with the Minnesota Vikings

Earlier in the week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers released their struggling former starting quarterback Josh Freeman, who had been having issues both on and off the field with the organization. It was reported earlier that the Vikings might have interest in Freeman, but the Vikings did not trade for him when Tampa made him available. Earlier today it was thought Freeman was starting to receive interest from teams and would choose a new location by the end of the night. The Buffalo Bills were starting to make a push towards signing Freeman, but apparently the Vikings leaped ahead of the Bills and the Oakland Raiders in the race for Freeman. Freeman is reported to now have signed a one year deal with the Vikings, according to Pro Football talk.

Freeman's acquisition complicates the quarterback situation for the Vikings, and it will be interesting how the organization frames his acquisition in the coming days. It's unclear whether Freeman where the Vikings place Freeman on the depth chart, as it was thought Matt Cassel was the favorite to start next Sunday against the Panthers after playing well week four against the Steelers. It does not seem to be a good sign for Christian Ponder, as the increased competition will make it harder for Ponder to see the field again this season.

I previously wrote a post surveying Freeman's history in the NFL and the pros and cons of the Vikings interest in him. In the post I expressed my views that a trade for Freeman would be detrimental to the Vikings, as this was before he was released by the Buccaneers. Simply signing him off the street is a much different situation because the Vikings don't have to surrender assets for Freeman and they don't have to commit to him as their quarterback long term. Freeman has the athletic skill set to be an NFL quarterback, and he had a breakout year back in 2010 when he threw 25 touchdowns and only six interceptions. Since then, he has regressed as a passer, but Freeman is still very young (at 25 he is actually younger than 49ers' quarterback Colin Kaepernick) and it's likely the Vikings blame his struggles on an unsupportive coaching staff. Current Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano has done nothing to hide the fact that he is no fan of Freeman, and he has made that clear since he took over the Buccaneers in 2012. The Vikings are likely hoping a fresh start is what Freeman needs to regain his old form.

The Vikings are signing Freeman to only a one year deal, so they are in no way treating Freeman like their next quarterback of the future. If Freeman does not impress the organization this year, they can cut bait with him no problem and move in another direction. More will be revealed in the next couple days, but it's now clear that the Vikings weren't standing idle during their week off.