Dominik explains 'no one is in a hurry' for Freeman contract

Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik says “no one is in a hurry” when it comes to a new contract for quarterback Josh Freeman.

It’s a touchy subject because Freeman played very well in 2012 and also had some real pitfalls and he will be entering the final year of his rookie contract. The up-and-down nature of the season would make negotiations difficult and while the club wants it to work out with Freeman, it also doesn’t want to be saddled with a problematic contract moving forward.

“With Josh, I think the main thing is that no one is in a hurry,” Dominik said on 620-AM in Tampa, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “I’m not in a hurry as general manager of the football team. I’ve talked to his representation. No one’s in a hurry to push anything through because he wants to maximize his ability and we want to make sure with everything that’s going on. So it’s more about a comfort level. There’s nothing adversarial about it. It’s all positive. It’s been good communication between everyone.”

Dominik is hopeful that another year working with offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan will be a positive even as the Bucs must replace quarterbacks coach Ron Turner, who left for a college job.

“I think the one thing to be encouraged about with Josh Freeman is (him) going into Year 2 of our offseason program and system, the way we do it now, and continue to build chemistry with some of the players who are here plus the guys we’re going to add and to build around what we’re building here as an offense,” Dominik said. “That’s exciting. We’re starting to score points and be that offense that’s never been here before. And we feel like we can completely improve upon that as well.”

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Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune