Freeman to sign with the vikes

[King James]

Either way this signing will start a lot of uncertainty in the locker-room.

First the coaches had everyone to believe Ponder was gonna step it up this year and really take over. All he needed was "help" at WR remember? So we get Greg Jennings, Cordarelle Patterson, and move Joe Webb to WR. He still cant get it done and gets injured in the process. Then we have Matt Cassel who wins 1 good game, the team really spoke highly of him after the game. Many thought Cassel would beat Ponder for starting gig eventually. Now we have Freeman, out of nowhere. Where does he fit? I think this team took an already messed up QB situation and made it messier.

[Eli]

I think this team took an already messed up QB situation and made it messier.

This.

[majorm]

P Manning couldn't save this season because no matter who the q/b is, our defense will continue to suck

While I am a firm believer that a really good QB can hide a lot of other weaknesses, I'm afraid you're right on the money. Better QB play will just make the deficiencies of this defense more glaring. No lead is safe. No third down distance is too long. No average QB they can't make look like Joe Montana. And the Vkings still have to face some way above average QBs. Man, I'm afraid AR may throw for 1000 yards and 12 TDs in the two games against the Vikings.

I don't know how I feel about this signing. I guess I'm happy because it surely means Ponder is for all intents and purposes done as a Viking. But I'm not so sure what we're really getting with Freeman. There is clearly much more potential there.

I think what we have right now at least is a much more capable backup to Cassell. I just don't think you sit Cassell unless he reverts to his 2012 form and starts turning the ball over at a ridiculous clip. If he plays well, you have to leave him in there.

[psjordan]

Holy cow, lot’s of hand-wringing over this signing.

First off, there is a huge difference between say the Vikes actually trading for Josh Freeman versus signing him after (what seems like) mostly a personality-related cut as a starter from another team.

Those of you spouting off about making our QB situation “messier” would have been the first folks complaining about Freeman ripping it up with BUF, all the while calling our FO a bunch of idiots.

Nothing in life is guaranteed. It is very rare that a starting NFL QB becomes available in his mid-20’s, even one with about a 79 lifetime QB rating and more INT’s than TD’s. Heck it sounds like more than a handful of teams were interested, so it’s not like he’s garbage (or at least those teams also saw him as an overall addition of talent).

Overall I see this as a ho-hum move for now. It is entirely possible that the makeup of the current Vikes roster provides a situation for Freeman to excel. That would be awesome. More likely IMO, if and when he plays he will hover around his 79 rating. Yawn.

IMO in the big scheme this was an easy gamble to take:

1) Cost was fairly minimal.

2) The team is signaling Ponder’s demise but can couch it in the “hey, guys like this don’t become available after game five, ever - so we had to sign him”.

3) If things go south with Freeman, it is possible they could reconstruct the relationship with Ponder (see #2 above) and get him to start until we can find someone else.

4) It’s possible the FO has already spoken to teams like DEN about a trade for Ponder (if you like our QB depth chart you’ll like this, Brock Osweiler and Zac Dysert are Manning’s backups).

5) Completely disagree with any "uncertainty in the locker room" comments. The players all understand coach-speak and FO-speak. If nothing else this tells the vets on the team that the FO has not given up on the season and they still believe in trying to get the right pieces to get enough wins and get into the playoffs. I am sure there are Ponder fans in the locker room but not one player will take this as anything but a positive ATTEMPT by the team to get better. And a signal like that can sometimes work wonders in the locker room.

[J. Kapp 11]

I guess I'm a bit confused by this.

Do NFL execs still see Josh Freeman as a franchise-type QB? He's had twice as long as Ponder to get his act together and still hasn't shown much. He's thrown at least 17 interceptions in 3 of his 4 seasons prior to 2013 and has won less than 43% of the games he's started. He's had some fairly decent yardage totals and had sort of a breakout season in 2010 but hasn't been very good since.

I guess Speilman and Frazier might be fearing for their jobs, but is Josh Freeman likely to turn around the Vikings' season? And let's say he DOES come here and light it up...he's then a free agent.

Not saying I "dislike" Freeman. I just don't see the point of signing him at this point. Then again, maybe I'm not that bright.


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[dead_poet]

I guess I'm a bit confused by this.

Do NFL execs still see Josh Freeman as a franchise-type QB? He's had twice as long as Ponder to get his act together and still hasn't shown much. He's thrown at least 17 interceptions in 3 of his 4 seasons prior to 2013 and has won less than 43% of the games he's started. He's had some fairly decent yardage totals and had sort of a breakout season in 2010 but hasn't been very good since.

I guess Speilman and Frazier might be fearing for their jobs, but is Josh Freeman likely to turn around the Vikings' season? And let's say he DOES come here and light it up...he's then a free agent.

Not saying I "dislike" Freeman. I just don't see the point of signing him at this point. Then again, maybe I'm not that bright.


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I'm with you, Kapp. It's a waste of resources, too late in the season, on a guy that doesn't present difference-making talent. It's a short-sighted approach that I can't see how it benefits the team long-term in any way (aside from the longshot possibility Freeman lights it up here, which is incredibly doubtful). I'd rather spend an extra million trying to re-sign likely disgruntled Winfield.

[Webbfann]

I'm with you. We finally have someone look good under center and we bring in someone that is essentially a vote of no confidence in him. Of course Freeman might turn out to be good, maybe, but I think his initial effect on the team will not be. But I hope I'm wrong.

Either way this signing will start a lot of uncertainty in the locker-room.

First the coaches had everyone to believe Ponder was gonna step it up this year and really take over. All he needed was "help" at WR remember? So we get Greg Jennings, Cordarelle Patterson, and move Joe Webb to WR. He still cant get it done and gets injured in the process. Then we have Matt Cassel who wins 1 good game, the team really spoke highly of him after the game. Many thought Cassel would beat Ponder for starting gig eventually. Now we have Freeman, out of nowhere. Where does he fit? I think this team took an already messed up QB situation and made it messier.

[Purple bruise]

Holy crap. Most head coaches and GMs are constantly scrutinized and are fearfull of losing their jobs. That is the nature of the business (see Giants head coach, who is a two time Super Bowl winning coach this year). I happen to think Spielman and Frazier are very good at what they do and Frazier seems to be a player's coach. Jennings and now Freeman both came here for a reason. I liked this signing especially since it did not involve trading players or draft picks. Cassel played and beat a winless Steelers team and made a handfull of plays to do it. I would much rather have Freeman than Cassel any day. They gave Cassel 7 million I believe but how much of that was guaranteed?
If Cassel can win games and look impressive then the staff will keep him as a starter (rightfully so) but it is nice to have a proven talent in Freeman waiting in the wings and learning the system. This was/is a win win signing.

[dead_poet]

Jennings and now Freeman both came here for a reason.

One for money, the other for a chance to start. Those were likely the primary reasons, but the Vikings do have a good culture and a respected GM and head coach.

They gave Cassel 7 million I believe but how much of that was guaranteed?

3/14/2013: Signed a two-year, $7.4 million contract. The deal included a first-year roster bonus of $2 million. Cassel can void the second year up to five days after the Super Bowl. 2013: $1.65 million, 2014: $3.7 million (Player Option), 2015: Free Agent

If Cassel can win games and look impressive then the staff will keep him as a starter (rightfully so) but it is nice to have a proven talent in Freeman waiting in the wings and learning the system. This was/is a win win signing.

Since 2010, that "proven talent" has 50 turnovers to 43 TDs, completing a dismal 50.25% of his passes in the last two seasons. He's regressing. Here's hoping that's due to coaching, system and a toxic environment.

[J. Kapp 11]

One for money, the other for a chance to start. Those were likely the primary reasons, but the Vikings do have a good culture and a respected GM and head coach.
3/14/2013: Signed a two-year, $7.4 million contract. The deal included a first-year roster bonus of $2 million. Cassel can void the second year up to five days after the Super Bowl. 2013: $1.65 million, 2014: $3.7 million (Player Option), 2015: Free Agent
Since 2010, that "proven talent" has 50 turnovers to 43 TDs, completing a dismal 50.25% of his passes in the last two seasons. He's regressing. Here's hoping that's due to coaching, system and a toxic environment.

I have no idea whether Matt Cassel regressed because of the inability to perform, or whether it was coaching/environment.

But if you look at what Alex Smith is doing right now in KC, I suspect it was a healthy dose of the latter. It's amazing how a quarterback can thrive with the right coaching (and I'm talking both Harbaugh and Reid in Smith's case).

I'm just not sure that Josh Freeman brings any more to the table than Matt Cassel does, at least not for this season. And for long-term, do we have a Harbaugh-Reid type of mentor to help get Freeman to the next level? Given Christian Ponder's ongoing cluelessness, I'd say the answer is no.


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[Texas Vike]

Holy cow, lot’s of hand-wringing over this signing.

First off, there is a huge difference between say the Vikes actually trading for Josh Freeman versus signing him after (what seems like) mostly a personality-related cut as a starter from another team.

Those of you spouting off about making our QB situation “messier” would have been the first folks complaining about Freeman ripping it up with BUF, all the while calling our FO a bunch of idiots.

Nothing in life is guaranteed. It is very rare that a starting NFL QB becomes available in his mid-20’s, even one with about a 79 lifetime QB rating and more INT’s than TD’s. Heck it sounds like more than a handful of teams were interested, so it’s not like he’s garbage (or at least those teams also saw him as an overall addition of talent).

Overall I see this as a ho-hum move for now. It is entirely possible that the makeup of the current Vikes roster provides a situation for Freeman to excel. That would be awesome. More likely IMO, if and when he plays he will hover around his 79 rating. Yawn.

IMO in the big scheme this was an easy gamble to take:

1) Cost was fairly minimal.

2) The team is signaling Ponder’s demise but can couch it in the “hey, guys like this don’t become available after game five, ever - so we had to sign him”.

3) If things go south with Freeman, it is possible they could reconstruct the relationship with Ponder (see #2 above) and get him to start until we can find someone else.

4) It’s possible the FO has already spoken to teams like DEN about a trade for Ponder (if you like our QB depth chart you’ll like this, Brock Osweiler and Zac Dysert are Manning’s backups).

5) Completely disagree with any "uncertainty in the locker room" comments. The players all understand coach-speak and FO-speak. If nothing else this tells the vets on the team that the FO has not given up on the season and they still believe in trying to get the right pieces to get enough wins and get into the playoffs. I am sure there are Ponder fans in the locker room but not one player will take this as anything but a positive ATTEMPT by the team to get better. And a signal like that can sometimes work wonders in the locker room.

This is the best take in this thread. I'm very excited to have signed Freeman. I'm glad the Vikings are being pro-active at the most important position on the team.

[smoothoperator]

this move makes tons of sense.

you spend only 3 million taking a flyer on a guy who has shown flashes of brilliance. i am not convinced he will be the answer, but it just makes sense. Freeman will be looking to prove himself and motivated to keep his career going, so you start cassel until/if he falls apart and then see what freeman has.

let the 3 guys battle it out and maybe a fire under their #### is exactly what they all need to perform. we didnt waste any picks, no QB in next years draft is a sure thing, so we might as well take the chance on him. this was a fantastic move.

[dead_poet]

I have no idea whether Matt Cassel regressed because of the inability to perform, or whether it was coaching/environment.

I was referring to Freeman.

But if you look at what Alex Smith is doing right now in KC, I suspect it was a healthy dose of the latter. It's amazing how a quarterback can thrive with the right coaching (and I'm talking both Harbaugh and Reid in Smith's case).

Agreed. Which I hope means Freeman has potential to rebound with better(?) coaching. Smith certainly has done well with Harbaugh and Reid.

I'm just not sure that Josh Freeman brings any more to the table than Matt Cassel does, at least not for this season. And for long-term, do we have a Harbaugh-Reid type of mentor to help get Freeman to the next level? Given Christian Ponder's ongoing cluelessness, I'd say the answer is no.

It's doubtful, but maybe there's chemistry between Freeman and Frazier/Craig Johnson. Just because Frazier/Johnson couldn't do much with guys like Jackson/McNabb or Ponder I suppose doesn't necessarily mean they don't have a chance with Freeman.

[chicagopurple]

Remember the old Frosty The Snowman animation thats on TV every Christmas? Remember they visit the Land of Broken Toys?? Well, I feel like the Vikes are the Land of Broken QBs.

I hope they give Cassel a second start before jumping the gun and putting Freeman in. Freeman has a lot to learn and if his excuse for a positive drug screen (ADD) is true, it may take him longer then nl to learn.

Meanwhile, what a bunch of mediocre choices we have to pick from for QB......embarassing.

[dead_poet]

Remember the old Frosty The Snowman animation thats on TV every Christmas? Remember they visit the Land of Broken Toys?? Well, I feel like the Vikes are the Land of Broken QBs.

I hope they give Cassel a second start before jumping the gun and putting Freeman in. Freeman has a lot to learn and if his excuse for a positive drug screen (ADD) is true, it may take him longer then nl to learn.

Meanwhile, what a bunch of mediocre choices we have to pick from for QB......embarassing.

Josh Freeman is not scheduled to arrive in the Twin Cities until later this afternoon so he won't be at practice this morning.

There's no way he's going to start on Sunday.