Dwight Freeney thinks teams are overlooking him: ‘I’m the anomaly’
Dwight Freeney is still looking for a job. Because of his age, the free agent defensive end may not find one with an NFL team. As you might expect, Freeney still believes he can bring it.
Freeney recently told Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report that he is “95 percent” sure he will continue playing in 2016. That is, of course, if NFL teams would stop obsessing over younger players and identify the value in a guy like him.
“Teams are in love with young guys,” Freeney said. “I get it, but teams overlook that young guys don’t always live up to that promise. How many times have you heard, ‘This guy is the next Lawrence Taylor’ or something like that?
“Teams also are in love with numbers and data when sometimes numbers can’t take into account the heart of a player. Teams back their draft picks because they don’t want their drafts to be wrong.”
At age 36, Freeney knows history is against him. He also knows he exceeded expectations with the Arizona Cardinals last season and still managed to rack up eight sacks.
“Teams miss that I’m not the average guy,” he said. “There are the anomalies, and I’m the anomaly. I can still play.”
The longer Freeney goes without signing, the cheaper he should be. Our guess is some team will take a chance on him, even if he doesn’t make the 53-man roster. Even at 36, it’s hard to pass up that kind of production and experience.
