Wednesday's NFL news cycle was dominated Wednesday by Greg Schiano's decision to bench Josh Freeman and make rookie Mike Glennon the new starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Talk immediately began regarding Freeman's future. Unfortunately for the Bucs, trading the former first-round pick may not be easy.
NFL news roundup: Josh Freeman and Greg Schiano face uncertain futures
The Buccaneers are open to trading Josh Freeman, but they may have trouble finding suitors. Meanwhile, Greg Schiano insists he isn’t worried about his job. Those stories, plus updates on Terrelle Pryor, Rob Gronkowski and DeAngelo Williams.
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The Jacksonville Jaguars and the Cleveland Browns, arguably the NFL's two teams in biggest need of starting quarterbacks, have reportedly already decided that they don't want Freeman's services. Mark Long of the Associated Press ruled out the Jags, while Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk ruled out the Browns. Both teams appear to be gearing up for a quarterback-rich 2014 NFL Draft.
Marc Sessler of NFL.com mentioned the Minnesota Vikings and Oakland Raiders as potential landing spots for Freeman, but neither team appears willing to absorb his base salary in a trade.
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While announcing Glennon as the new starter of the Buccaneers, head coach Greg Schiano inevitably faced questions about his job security. He responded saying that he isn’t worried, despite the fact that the Bucs have lost eight of their last nine games. Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com speculated that offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan and/or general manager Mark Dominik are more likely to be on the chopping block first, but Schiano could shortly follow if the Buccaneers continue to lose games.
Per CSN Bay Area, Pryor missed practice Wednesday for the Raiders while recovering from the concussion he suffered during Monday night's loss to the Denver Broncos. There is no word yet on his status for Week 4 against the Washington Redskins, but the longer he sits the more likely Matt Flynn gets the start. Flynn handled all of the Raiders' first-team snaps in practice.
Expect the Raiders to handle Pryor carefully, now that they are under investigation by the NFL Players Association for how they diagnosed Pryor’s concussion Monday night.
Gronkowski should be suiting up for the New England Patriots this week, at least according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen. Head coach Bill Belichick isn't tipping his hand, as usual, but Mortensen told SportsCenter that the Patriots are "leaning 60-40" in favor of playing the tight end coming off forearm and back surgeries. Gronkowski hasn't seen the field since last January's playoff loss to the Houston Texans, during which he re-fractured his forearm.
DeAngelo Williams pulled no punches when asked about the factors behind his hot start with the Carolina Panthers this season. Williams pointed the finger directly at former offensive coordinator Rod Chudzinski, who is now the head coach of the Browns. Williams made sure to put in a Trent Richardson dig as well:
“I can say this, though -- a different offensive coordinator. I can definitely say that. The last offensive coordinator got rid of his starting running back.”
Wide receiver Steve Smith took shots at Chudzinski earlier this season, saying that his former OC got “too cute” with Panthers’ offense so that he could position himself for a head coaching job after the season ended.
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