Josh Freeman and the New York Giants made official what had been reported since last week - the former Buccaneers starter exiled early last season has signed a one-year deal to be Eli Manning's backup.
The Giants announced the signing Monday afternoon on the first day of offseason workouts—which Manning is sitting out because of ankle surgery earlier this month. Freeman, who started in Tampa Bay from midway through his rookie season of 2009 until September of last year, becomes the frontrunner for the No. 2 job behind Manning.
The Giants, however, are Freeman's third team in six months. The Bucs, under then-head coach Greg Schiano, benched Freeman after three games in 2013, then de-activated him, then fined him, then released him in October. He finished the season with Minnesota and started one game - coincidentally, in MetLife Stadium in an ugly 23-7 win by the then-winless Giants before a national TV audience.
"I don’t really see that happening again as long as I’m playing. I expect to go out and when I play, play well,'' Freeman told reporters, according to the Newark Star-Ledger. "Last year was rough all around, but I’m happy to get a new start here and have an opportunity to be there for the Giants and see where it goes.”
Freeman, 26, led the Bucs to a 10-6 record in 2010 in his first full year as a starter, but since then his completion percentage has fallen from the low 60s to 54.8 in 2012 and 45.7 in his four games last year. He's thrown 45 touchdowns and 43 interceptions since 2011 and has gone 11-24 as a starter.