Alouettes actually cut Josh Freeman before he retired

According to TSN690 radio host (and former 3Down contributor) Joey Alfieri, the Montreal Alouettes released quarterback Josh Freeman before he decided to retire.

Montreal announced that Freeman was retiring on Saturday morning but had already given the former NFL pivot his walking papers.

Alright, so it sounds like Josh Freeman is in fact retiring, but the #Alouettes definitely decided to cut him before he announced his retirement #TSN690

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— Joey Alfieri (@joeyalfieri) May 26, 2018

RDS analyst Didier Orméjuste – who was the first guy to report that Freeman was at the bottom of the QB depth chart last week – says the Alouettes have made a mess of their quarterbacking situation yet again.

To be honest Freeman should never have been in training camp. He struggled a lot during minicamp. His mechanic was all over the place. The guys hardly played the past five years and is 30 years old. Another bad signing.

— Didier Orméjuste 🇭🇹 (@DidierOrmejuste) May 26, 2018

Orméjuste points out that Reed’s first stab at solving the team’s pivot issues involved trading for veteran quarterback Darian Durant, then signing him to a lucrative contract extension. Montreal acquired Durant for two drafts picks in January 2016 sending a 2017 fourth rounder and a second-round selection in 2018 to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Durant then signed a three-year contract extension through the 2019 season, which had a total value of $1.25 million. Durant made $400,000 last season but was released in January, just before a $150,000 roster bonus was due.

The long-time Riders signal caller threw for 3,233 yards, 15 touchdowns against 16 interceptions (second-most in the league) for the Als last season and he was benched multiple times.

C’est donc la deuxième année de suite que Kavis Reed met sous contrat un quart-arrière qui s’avère être au bout du rouleau. / So for a second year in a row, Kavis Reed signed a QB who turned out to be washed up.

— Didier Orméjuste 🇭🇹 (@DidierOrmejuste) May 26, 2018

Now this…

On m’a dit que la décision de libérer Josh Freeman et prétendre qu’il prenait sa retraite était prise depuis au moins mercredi. / I’m told the decision to release Josh Freeman and to pretend that he was retiring was made since at least Wednesday.

— Didier Orméjuste 🇭🇹 (@DidierOrmejuste) May 26, 2018