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1. The story behind the comeback

Allow me to introduce you to someone. Actually, this is a reintroduction. Everyone: This is Josh Freeman. Josh: This is everyone.

You may think you know him. Or know about him. But you don't.

This is Josh Freeman. He's in Florida, at IMG Academy, one of several places he's trained in his year away from the NFL, and it's the morning. Drill after drill, and pass after pass. The dropback is effortless, the passes on target. This goes on for 90 minutes. A bit to eat, and then comes the playbook study. The routine continues for weeks and months. And more months.

This is Josh Freeman. This month, more training, except he's in Arizona. It's two-a-days on a local high school field. More throws, more work. It's 90 minutes in the morning, a break for lunch, and then 90 more in the afternoon. Red-zone concepts, pressures, long throws, short ones. Drill after drill, and pass after pass. Different state, different field, but same strong work ethic.

This is also Josh Freeman. He is back in Kansas City, where he lives part of the year, and there is yet another field, and more passes, and more work. There is also more film study. He looks at cutups of his career—every play, positive and negative.

"I take out the emotion of how I felt on that play," he says, "and I look at that play honestly. I look at how I did on it. I'm really looking to improve."

In his mind, there is a dissection and rebuilding of every throw. The process mirrors his career now—how he is rebuilding it, workout by workout, across three different states, and in front of other athletes and coaches.

I spoke to Freeman before he signed with the Miami Dolphins this past week, and briefly followed his comeback trail, and one thing was demonstrably clear: This is a different guy. Not the guy you've read about. Or heard about. This is a player who will not just make the Dolphins roster, but who will develop into more than a competent backup.

I see Freeman staying in Miami for a year, proving himself all over again, then starting somewhere next season. I'm not alone in that thinking.

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

In many ways, this story is an old one. A player reaches the NFL, becomes one of its hottest stars, ends up out of football and then looks for redemption. In many ways, this story is also a new one. In a league starving for competent throwers, it was staggering that Freeman wasn't signed until the Dolphins stepped in.

Has he been frustrated? "That's not the word I would use," he told me before signing with the team.

Why was Freeman out of football? Several team executives I spoke with said there was a false campaign launched from within the Buccaneers organization, leading to a story from ESPN that Freeman was in Stage 1 of the NFL's drug program. The intent of the person leaking that information, these executives explained, was to portray Freeman as a troubled guy on drugs.

Those executives say their information shows Freeman never had a drug problem. Freeman would not comment on that aspect of his comeback, but he said in 2013 in a statement: "Let me be very clear. I have NEVER tested positive for any illegal drugs or related substances. Further, I have agreed to take, and have PASSED 46 NFL-regulated drug tests over the last year and a half."

One team executive who worked out Freeman within the past year said his team did an extensive background check on Freeman and was convinced he's clean. In fact, every executive interviewed for this story said they believe he's clean. One said Freeman "could not have higher character."

The Dolphins also obviously believed this.

Gail Burton/Associated Press

The leaking of information infuriated the union, which asked the NFL to investigate the matter. A letter from union counsel Tom DePaso to Adolpho Birch, the NFL's senior vice president of law and labor, asked the NFL to find the leaker or leakers, and punish them. So far, no one has been.

So why little interest before in Freeman, and then the Dolphins' signing? The rumors—or lies, as one general manager put it—made some teams nervous. They wanted to wait and see. They waited and saw and discovered that Freeman was solid. So interest picked up.

Another reason interest increased: Word spread around football about the new Freeman. Those who know Freeman well know there is actually nothing new about him. This is him. This is how he always has been. And will be in the future.

You saw some of how Freeman really is during his conference call with Dolphins media. He was honest, contrite and hopeful. Freeman spoke of being inspired by Kurt Warner, who he recently met. "He is a guy that is a prime example of a guy that was out of football and got that call and stepped into that situation and made the most of it," Freeman said. "Kurt is an amazing guy and tremendous competitor. The attitude and approach he took going in during his time with the Rams was definitely something that I can learn from."

Do you remember?

It was November of 2009 and Freeman had his first NFL start. He threw three touchdowns and ended an 11-game Tampa Bay losing streak. One year later, he became the first Bucs quarterback in seven years to start all 16 games.

I know of the controversial times in Freeman's career. The various reports. I get it. What I'm saying is that Freeman isn't that guy anymore. If he ever truly was.

There were low moments, to be sure, but since Freeman, the quarterback situation in Tampa has been a dumpster fire. There were Mike Glennon and Josh McCown. The team will likely draft Jameis Winston, and while he looks to be an excellent prospect, you never know. It may turn out that Freeman was the best quarterback the Buccaneers have had in a long, long time.

Josh Freeman NFL stats Year Team(s) W-L Cmp-Att Cmp% Yards TD INT Rating 2009 TB 3-6 158-290 54.5 1,855 10 18 59.8 2010 TB 10-6 291-474 61.4 3,451 25 6 95.9 2011 TB 4-11 346-551 62.8 3,592 16 22 74.6 2012 TB 7-9 306-558 54.8 4,065 27 17 81.6 2013 TB/Min 0-4 63-147 42.9 761 2 4 52.6 pro-football-reference.com

Terry Shea, a coach who has worked with dozens of quarterbacks, including Freeman, says one of the best aspects about Freeman is his attitude.

"He's in a great state of mind," said Shea. "It's the biggest thing I see about him. That's no easy task for someone who was at such a high point and then out of football. He's placed no blame on anyone. All he does is put his head down and get better."

Freeman went to work with Shea in late March. "When you see him, the first thing to see is his physical stature," said Shea. "He's chiseled. He's done a great job of getting his body NFL-ready."

Shea added: "There were times I'd get to the facility, and he'd already be there, looking at playbooks. His quarterback IQ is as good as I've ever seen."

Remember what Freeman was. He was a first-round pick of the Buccaneers in 2009 and almost took the team to the playoffs in 2010, when he threw 25 touchdowns and only six picks. He left the NFL at 26. He's only 27 now.

His future is bright…again.

2. Last word on Freeman…and Tim Tebow

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There were actually several teams interested in Freeman, according to one team official, but Freeman's familiarity with the Miami front office—some of the personnel men were in Tampa when Freeman was there—was one of the big selling points.

One question I've gotten from fans on Twitter post-Freeman signing: Why hasn't Tim Tebow signed?

First: Why are you asking me?

Second: As I've previously reported, there are teams interested in Tebow…to play fullback. Or maybe tight end. Maybe. Mostly, teams believe Tebow's NFL career as a quarterback is over. Stranger things have happened, but that's what it looks like at the moment.

3. Dumb

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Florida State defensive back and NFL prospect P.J. Williams got into, um, a bit of trouble, as reported by the Tallahassee Democrat.

Really not smart. Really, really, really not smart.

One team source told me Williams was dropped on their draft board from the first round to the fourth. The source said that was being generous. I agree. It's possible Williams falls further.

The reason is that he will almost certainly enter the league's substance abuse program. This would obviously be good news for him personally. He can get help. But from a strictly tactical draft standpoint, teams see him now as a potentially problematic player. Some simply won't want to take a chance on him.

4. Winston, Mariota still one and two…so far

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

That's the feelings of teams that I speak to. Jameis Winston will go first, and Marcus Mariota will go second overall. Either the Titans will take Mariota, or they will trade out of that spot. By no means is this set, of course, but it still looks like Mariota will go after Winston.

5. Jets might move up

Normally when a general manager openly talks about trading up, it's prime, top-grade B.S. Yet there are teams that believe the Jets are indeed open to moving up. They don't believe New York will go to the first spot, but they do think it's one of the teams poised to switch with the Titans.

6. What in the living hell?

This is LaRon Landry in a recent picture showing off his biceps. His arm looks like a small automobile. It is not shocking that Landry will serve a 10-game suspension at the start of next year for his second performance-enhancing violation. No, not surprising, since it looks like tiny humans live in his arms. The surprising part is that Landry thinks he could play safety bulked up like that. A position that requires speed and quickness? How can someone built like a truck think they can cover sports cars?

7. Daredevils

First, Tom Brady jumped off a cliff.

Got all manner of people fired up. Brady survived just fine.

Then, Cam Newton posts video of himself doing, um, this.

That's probably more dangerous than jumping off a damn cliff.

Detroit Lions linebacker DeAndre Levy topped them both by freaking wing walking.

WING WALKING!

What's happening here? Nothing necessarily new. Players have done daredevil-like stuff in the offseason for decades. But it's been a long time since I can remember three such high-profile players doing this in one offseason. It's highly unusual.

A few scouts playing amateur psychologist believe the slight uptick is due to the fact that rules restricting the level of violence during the season leave players craving collisions and adrenaline rushes when the game stops. (I told you it was amateur psychology.)

I think players are no different than the rest of us (well, with the exception of their money and athletic ability and money). I think they just want to have fun. That's it. That's all.

8. Greg Hardy photos

Chris Keane/Associated Press

The NFL quietly reached a deal with prosecutors to view photos from the Greg Hardy case, per The Charlotte Observer. Hardy is currently on the exempt list. The deal reached by the NFL means discipline against Hardy could happen soon.

The Hardy case represents something else. It will be the true test case of the NFL's more stringent domestic violence polices. Whatever happens, we are at the beginning of an interesting, historic period for the NFL.

9. McCoy right and wrong

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

LeSean McCoy is right that Chip Kelly doesn't like star players. But he's also a tiny bit wrong.

After all, how can Kelly not like star players when he just signed DeMarco Murray? I believe Murray is a star. A huge one.

What Kelly doesn't like is a star who commands a locker room—or speaks out. Some head coaches don't care if players talk to the media a lot or have outsized personalities. Coaches like Mike Ditka and Jimmy Johnson headed teams that had huge personalities and were fine with it. I covered Dan Reeves with the Giants, and he was the opposite.

Kelly wants one voice: his and his alone. Murray fits more into that philosophy. He doesn't say a peep; McCoy is chatty and will now play for Rex Ryan, who talks more than anyone.

10. Unbelievable Browns

David Richard/Associated Press

And not in a good way.

I will give owner Jimmy Haslam credit for saying, via ESPN, that some of the criticism of the Browns is deserved. This is a fact some of the team's fans don't seem to comprehend. Other fanbases of horrid franchises take their lumps. Browns fans threaten to blow up the houses of people who criticize the team.

I know the team has struggled under the Haslam regime, but I didn't realize just how bad until I read this in the ESPN story: "Since the family bought the team for just more than $1 billion in October 2012, the Browns have been through three head coaches, three general managers, seven quarterbacks."

Damn.

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report.