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Vikings announce quarterback Josh Freeman will start against New York Giants on Monday

Shutdown Corner

The Minnesota Vikings are ready to see what quarterback Josh Freeman can bring to the table.

The Vikings announced that the newly acquired quarterback would start against the New York Giants on Monday.

Vikings coach Leslie Frazier’s willingness to start Freeman less than two weeks since the free agent signed with his squad indicates he has seen enough of quarterbacks Christian Ponder and Matt Cassel, who struggled during a blowout loss against the Carolina Panthers this past week. Cassel completed 32-of-44 passes for 241 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions during that 35-10 defeat.

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Freeman, who was a first-round pick (17th overall) of Tampa Bay in 2009 and is just 25 years old, has thrown for 13,534 yards, 80 touchdowns and 66 interceptions in his career. He was recently released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and signed a one-year deal with Minnesota.

Freeman will have a chance to prove his skeptics – mainly Bucs coach Greg Schiano – that he is still talented enough to start in the NFL.

After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers used their first-round pick on Freeman in 2009, he became a starter later in that season under former coach Raheem Morris. He led Tampa Bay to a victory against the Green Bay Packers in his first start on November 8, 2009, throwing three touchdowns and one interception during that win.

Freeman led Tampa Bay to a 10-6 record during the 2010, and Tampa Bay narrowly missed advancing to the playoffs. He threw 25 touchdowns and six interceptions during his second season, and many NFL observers believed he had more upside than Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) and Mark Sanchez (New York Jets), two quarterbacks selected ahead of Freeman during the 2009 NFL draft.

However, Tampa Bay began 4-2 during 2011, but proceeded to lose its next 10 games. Freeman finished with 16 touchdowns and 22 interceptions.

Morris was eventually replaced by Schiano, and after Freeman threw for 4,065 yards, 27 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in 2012, Tampa Bay drafted quarterback Mike Glennon this past offseason. It was the first clear indication that Schiano lost faith in Freeman.

Prior to this season, Schiano confirmed that Freeman missed a team photo and other events. His willingness to inform media members about things that happened behind closed doors became another sign of the split between player and coach.

Schiano decided to bench Freeman in favor of Glennon after three games. Freeman was inactive the following game and wanted to sit with his parents in the suite he had purchased. He was later escorted by stadium security out of that suite and forced to sit in a suite with other inactive players.

The most damaging blow to Freeman’s relationship with Schiano occurred when information was leaked about Freeman’s participation in Stage 1 of the NFL’s drug-testing program. Freeman said he had a prescription for Adderall to treat ADHD, but last year he accidentally took Ritalin, which triggered a positive test. Freeman said he voluntarily agreed to frequent drug screenings, which led to his placement in the league's drug program, and passed 46 drug tests since being in the program.

Meanwhile, the NFLPA conducted its own investigation and concluded Schiano was the person responsible for revealing Freeman’s medical information. The NFLPA has asked the NFL to participate in a joint investigation that would allow union officials to question Schiano, who previously denied any wrongdoing.

Freeman was officially released by Tampa Bay on October 3.

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Anwar S Richardson

is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at NFLAnwar@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!