The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had two more days to examine the injured right thumb of starting quarterback Josh Freeman, and their updated prognosis remains as promising as the one released on Saturday night: Freeman is expected to return in time for the regular-season opener on September 12.
"Right now, it's the same statement," said General Manager Mark Dominik on Monday. "We're confident and excited about him being able to be prepared for Week One. He's been in here the last couple days getting training and rehab. Right now, it's just a matter of his body rehabbing and healing, and being ready to go in Week One. We're still confident in that."
Freeman fractured the tip of the thumb on his right (throwing) hand on the Buccaneers' first offensive series against the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday. He did not return to the game as reserves Josh Johnson and Rudy Carpenter completed Tampa Bay's 20-15 preseason win. Before exiting the game, Freeman completed two of four passes for 21 on a 28-yard field goal drive.
That means Freeman finishes his brief preseason with a total of three offensive series played, completing six of eight passes for 74 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions and a passer rating of 142.7. It has not been determined exactly when Freeman will return to the practice field, but he has already begun to attack his rehab with the same fervor he shown for months in his preparations for this season.
"Josh Freeman has taken this on just like he has the entire offseason," said Dominik. "I walked downstairs – it might have been 6:30 this morning – and he's already in there icing his thumb. It's important to him, and that's why we have the confidence as an organization that he'll be out there against the Cleveland Browns."
That dedication to his offseason preparation is also why the Buccaneers' staff is not overly concerned about the practice time Freeman will miss in the last two weeks of the preseason.
"The thing about Josh Freeman is that he has spent an inordinate amount of time in the offseason program here, with every day he possibly could," said Dominik. "Sure it's disappointing that he might not be able to practice this week but the kid made a lot of progress throughout the offseason. All that works not for shame. Five or six days versus what he put in during the offseason? I'm confident and happy with where he's at."
Freeman will definitely not practice this week as the Buccaneers prepare for their third preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The team will evaluate his progress again in the following week and determine when he will start to throw again. Though the Bucs remain confident that Freeman will start the regular season on time, the final decision will obviously keep the young quarterback's long-term interests in mind, too.
"It's a lot about the swelling, it's about being able to grasp the football, being able to hold onto it and be accurate with the ball," said Dominik. "This week, he's going to be extremely limited to almost doing nothing, just to give him a chance to get his body healthy, then we'll go from there. That's one of those things where let's see how his thumb feels and where his pain tolerance is, and really where the swelling is, to be able to grasp the football. We'll determine that next week."
Dominik said the Buccaneers would strongly consider adding another quarterback to the roster so that Johnson and Carpenter are not overworked. The team will concentrate on younger options at the position, rather than an experienced veteran, mostly because the prognosis on Freeman's return is so positive. As for the remainder of the preseason game schedule, Johnson and Carpenter will take advantage of the opportunity to get in some additional work. Dominik said the team would likely stick to its plan of keeping the starters in for at least a half on Saturday against Jacksonville, just with Johnson under center instead of Freeman.
"If the situation was different we'd maybe approach it differently," said Dominik. "But the preseason is important for all players. Rudy Carpenter can't get enough snaps. He's done a good job, but that was just the third preseason game in his life so he can take as many games as he can. The same with Josh Johnson. At some point you've got to be prepared to actually be able to play games.
"Injuries are part of it and you deal with that in every aspect of the game. You just continue to prepare the guys behind him. I think the coaching staff has done a very good job with our two young quarterbacks in Josh Johnson and Rudy Carpenter. I think they both played their best game this last week. So you just have to prepare the guys behind them to step up. Certainly we're looking forward to Josh [Freeman] being out there against the Cleveland Browns."
The Bucs sustained a couple additional injuries on Saturday night against the Chiefs. Running back Derrick Ward left the game after sustaining a mild concussion but the team expects him to return to the field on Saturday against the Jaguars. Rookie defensive end Brandon Gilbeaux suffered a knee sprain and is not likely to play on Saturday.
As for players who were injured prior to the Chiefs game, running back Clifton Smith (knee inflammation) is expected to return while tackle Demar Dotson (ankle) remains a question mark as the week begins.
