TAMPA, Fla. — In the culmination of a messy breakup, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have released quarterback Josh Freeman, one week after benching the fifth-year pro in favor of rookie Mike Glennon.
The release caps a tumultuous month in which Freeman overslept before missing a team photo shoot, was not voted a captain for time since his rookie year, and reportedly missed at least one other team meeting.
This week, the saga took a messy turn when Freeman released a statement through his agent, saying he had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and entered the NFL substance-abuse program more than a year ago after mistakenly taking Ritalin instead of Adderall to treat the condition.
The NFL Players Association is investigating the quarterback’s claim that someone in the Bucs organization leaked confidential information about him being in the program to the media.
According to Freeman and his agent Erik Burkhardt, the quarterback has passed all 46 tests administered by the league.
Freeman struggled the first three weeks of the season, completing just 45.7 percent of his passes. He’s Tampa Bay’s career leader in completions and touchdown passes and is second in passing yards.
The Bucs (0-4) released the 25-year-old after contacting every NFL team in an unsuccessful attempt to trade him. The club must pay him the remaining $6.25 million of his salary for this season.
General manager Mark Dominik announced the move Thursday, saying the move was in the best interest of the winless Bucs and Freeman, who threw for 4,065 yards, 27 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in 2012.