Coach reveals that Tampa quarterback Josh Freeman was rear-ended in a car accident on Friday, and played through that soreness, on top of the pain of a broken thumb hurt on Aug. 21.
Tampa, Fla. -- The story of Buccaneers Josh Freeman's broken thumb was pretty well documented; the Tampa Bay quarterback missed time in the preason for the injury suffered against Kansas City on Aug. 21.What we didn't know until Monday is that the second-year signal caller had also been in a car accident just days before the season-opening home victory over Cleveland, as reported by writer Wolf Heard on the pewterreport.com.
There was some doubt early last week as to whether or not quarterback Josh Freeman would start against the Cleveland Browns. Well, Freeman got the start and played pretty well despite his thumb still not being fully healed. However, it was not just thumb that was bothering him. Offensive coordinator Greg Olson revealed to the media on Monday that Freeman was involved in a car accident just days before the season opener."I'll just say that it was a real gutsy performance in my opinion by Josh Freeman," said Olson. "Everybody's body reacts differently – it was a clean break, but it was a break – but he wasn't healthy. He came out and played with pain. On top of it, everyone made big deal about Tom Brady being involved in a car accident, I got a phone call from Todd (Toriscelli – the Bucs' Director of Sports Medicine and Performance) saying that (Freeman) was rear ended on Friday. So, he too was involved in something on Friday afternoon. So the guy played – on top of a broken thumb – after being involved in an accident."
Freeman finished the game 17-of-28 (61 percent) for 182 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, while compiling a QB rating of 88.7.
It wasn't good, but it was better than the 59.2 rating earned by Cleveland quarterback Jake Delhomme, who was 20 of 37 for 277 yards with one TD and two picks.