Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback decides to retire from football

(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) Josh Freeman
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) Josh Freeman /
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Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Josh Freeman has decided to end his football career after he was recently released by the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes.

We reported on here a couple of weeks ago that former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Josh Freeman was attempting to keep his professional football career alive in the CFL.

Well, his attempt apparently did not last very long.

Freeman was competing for a roster spot with the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes and on Saturday, the team decided to release the quarterback. Alouettes head coach Kavis Reed explained that the decision to release Freeman was made to give the other signal callers on their roster more reps during the team’s current training camp.

After finding out that a CFL team was not even interested in keeping him around, the former Vikings quarterback has decided to retire from football.

Selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft, Freeman spent a little more than four seasons with the Buccaneers before signing with Minnesota in 2013.

Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings /

Minnesota Vikings

The quarterback was never really given a fair shot with the Vikings. Minnesota essentially thrust Freeman into the fire two weeks after signing him and basically expected him to be the team’s savior under center.

The Vikings’ decision to insert Freeman as their starting quarterback less than a month after he joined the team resulted in him completing just 37.7 percent of his passes against an abysmal New York Giants defense.

Following the Giants debacle, Freeman remained on Minnesota’s roster for the rest of the 2013 season, but never appeared in another game for the Vikings as a starter.

Unfortunately for the quarterback, his NFL career was never really able to get back on track following his stint in Minnesota. After the Vikings unsurprisingly did not re-sign Freeman in 2014, he spent time with the Giants, Miami Dolphins, the FXFL’s Brooklyn Bolts, and the Indianapolis Colts before being given a shot in the CFL with Montreal this year.

Next: Who will be the Vikings' best offensive player in 2017?

Maybe Freeman’s career could have turned out differently if not for Minnesota rushing him onto the field back in 2013? But that is a question that will forever remain without an answer.