The Minnesota Vikings went from having Christian Ponder as "their guy" to having three quarterbacks all with starting experience. Naturally as the team is 1-3 on the year, questions have arisen about whether a change is needed and if Ponder is truly capable of continuing to be a starting quarterback for the Vikings. Head coach Leslie Frazier will now have to handle this debate each week for the remainder of the season.
It was an easy decision to make Matt Cassel the starter against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ponder was out with a rib injury. While the quarterback had yet to get a win for Minnesota and was digressing in stats, Frazier was able to side-step any questions with the injury excuse. Cassel got the team their first win and looked poised to take over the role. The Vikings rewarded him by signing Josh Freeman. With three quarterbacks, all healthy and capable of a quality game, on the roster, who starts against Carolina?
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that while Ponder is healthy from is rib injury and has been cleared to play, Cassel will get his second straight start. Freeman will not be active for the week. Schefter writes that Ponder is now healthy but has yet to participate in a full practice, making the team uncomfortable with starting him against the Panthers.
The Vikings brought on the quarterback drama themselves after the team opted to sign the former Buccaneers starter Freeman. General manager Rick Spielman stressed that the signing is in no way an indication of any quarterback's status with the team. He fully believes in Ponder and the quarterback's future with the Vikings, but he felt an obligation to put the best 53-man roster together and that included Freeman.
"Part of my job is to make sure I'm trying get the best 53 players on this roster," Spielman said, via ProFootballTalk.com. "At the end of the season, we'll make an evaluation like we always do and determine that going forward but by no means is this a reflection on we're disappointed in Christian Ponder or disappointed in Matt Cassel or disappointed in Bethel, it was just an opportunity to go out and add another football player that we have high regard for."
Frazier echoed those words saying that as long as Ponder is healthy, he will be the team's starting quarterback. He forgot to put in how many days Ponder needed to practice to get the job. So for now, Cassel will likely be under center on Sunday and Vikings' fans will have to wait for the next quarterback announcement.
