Josh Freeman cut his injured thumb at a gun range

Josh Freeman (notes) needed five stitches on his injured throwing hand after cutting himself while at a gun range on Halloween night.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback played his next game with a wrap around his thumb. Up until Tuesday, the team had only said he hurt it during the team's London game against the Chicago Bears . It wasn't until the Tampa Tribune asked specifically about the stitches that the team and Freeman confirmed the gun mishap.

He texted an explanation to the Tampa Tribune :

"My thumb got sprained in the Chicago game and got cut at the range. The cut was only cosmetic and didn't affect my play. The sprain, on the other hand[*], lingered for a few weeks.''

* He's speaking figuratively. The cut and sprain were on the same thumb.

Let's take Freeman's statement at face value. (A Bucs spokesman has confirmed that Freeman wore a wrap on the thumb after the Chicago game (on Oct. 23), so there's no reason not to.) Freak injuries happen and just because this one occurred at a gun range doesn't necessarily mean Freeman was doing anything wrong. It's amusing and brings to mind other ridiculous athlete injuries but, as my left index finger can attest, you can cut yourself doing just about anything, like opening a can of olives during a bout of insomnia on Thanksgiving night.

In Freeman's eyes, this was a simple accident that could happen to anyone. True. Unless you're going to sit in a padded room all day, athletes run the risk of getting injured. But Freeman's explanation glosses over one crucial fact: He went to a gun range with a sprained throwing thumb! That can't be a good way to deal with an injury on the hand with which you throw. I've never shot a gun but have watched the "Die Hard" films enough times to know that holding a firearm and shooting it can't be good for an injured thumb. The cut and the sprain are unrelated, but the cut never would have happened if Freeman was properly caring for the sprain.

/Checks schedule to see if Buffalo Bills play the Bucs this season, thus affording Stevie Johnson (notes) the opportunity to mock Freeman's gun-related mishap and ... nothing. Our loss.

Related: Stevie Johnson , Josh Freeman , Buffalo Bills , Chicago Bears , Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com