The Minnesota Vikings biggest need heading into the 2014 season is improvement at the quarterback position. After throwing Christian Ponder into the starting role following being drafted in the first round, the quarterback failed to develop into a true professional talent and the Vikings' offense suffered as a result. Now with Matt Cassel and newly drafted Teddy Bridgewater on the roster, will it just be much of the same in Minnesota?
Head coach Mike Zimmer is not interested in naming a starter for the Vikings heading into training camp. That has certainly failed for Minnesota in the past, so instead, the new coach is content with letting the three players battle it out and feed off one another, hoping improvement is the result.
"All three will be the same," Zimmer said, via the Star Tribune. "We'll continue to teach every day. There are some things in the systems that we will have to continue to build on from where we were, just to get them introduced in case we decide to use them during the regular season. The other part is perfecting the things that we are doing. I think all three. We're not going to forget what they did in the spring. But we're going to continue to evaluate them each day as we get going. The preseason games will probably be a little bit more of a judge, when we're going against other people."
The Vikings re-signed Cassel to a new two-year contract this offseason with the intentions that he would take over the starting job from Ponder. The Vikings then traded up in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft to acquire Louisville star, Bridgewater, to become the future of the franchise. The team's intentions were to let the rookie develop while Cassel holds down the offseason. However, the rookie impressed during the spring, drawing praise from offensive coordinator Norv Turner which could mean the depth chart is not as set as originally assumed.
So what about Ponder? Many NFL sources were reporting the quarterback was going to be traded this offseason. Ponder has one more year remaining on his contract making him easy trade bait, but no team bought it. Now Ponder remains on the roster and according to Zimmer, he could still see some playing time.
"Actually, I think Christian has done a very good job in the time that we've had him and how much he has improved in that amount of time," Zimmer said. "We're going to try to give everyone a fair shot, and preseason games will help determine it. We want someone who is going to take care of the football, lead the team in the right direction and when called upon be able to win football games. To me, the starting quarterback also comes down to what kind of team we have - the defense, how good we are there, and the offensive line. Those things are all important to understanding who the quarterback may be, as well."
