Bucs Done with Freeman; Willing to Trade

The Josh Freeman era is over in Tampa Bay.

The Buccaneers are looking to trade their starting quarterback, but so far no one is biting, including two teams who need quarterbacks: the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns.

I'm not too shocked by the Browns' lack of interest. They seem to be sufficient at quarterback, but the Jags need one badly, even if it's Josh Freeman. Who knows? They might even be planning on taking their fans' advice and pick up Tim Tebow.

I have a tendency to think Freeman's benching is not his fault. The Buccaneers haven't exactly surrounded him with a lot of weapons.

Who are his go-to receivers? Matthew Stafford has Calvin Johnson; Carson Palmer has Larry Fitzgerald; Matt Ryan has Julio Jones. But where is that guy Freeman can throw to and count on to bail him out?

Quick, name a Buccaneers wideout.

You can't, can you?

And what about the Bucs' running game?

OK, that's a rhetorical question. The kind Henny Youngman used to toss out as a straight line.

Aaron Rodgers didn't have much of a running game in Green Bay until this year, but he still had some reliable receivers he could throw to.

Freeman didn't have anyone in his backfield to help take up the slack. He's not a Peyton Manning who could turn unknowns into good receivers. He's more or less a game manager, but in the NFL being just a game manager doesn't get you to the playoffs.

And it damn sure won't get you to a Super Bowl.