The potential answers have changed but the questions really aren't much different than they were a few days ago and a lot of the confusion comes from people trying to read between the lines. I understand that impulse but it does contribute to the overall confusion.dead_poet wrote:I had it in my head we'd play Ponder until he either seized the starting role (ha) or obviously failed then sign rookie and pray that rookie was our next Brady/Manning. Now Ponder is injured, may or may not start again, Cassel may or may not start again and Freeman may or may not start. One or all three might get some playing time at some point? Maybe? Now you have to evaluate three QBs in 12 games? If Ponder is done, is he done at 29 starts and Spielman has seen enough to properly evaluate him and turn the page? What about Cassel? Freeman? What if one of them does...decent? How does that affect potentially re-signing him and how does it play into your draft strategy (with a deep QB class)?
Maybe it's just me.
The Vikes have opened the door for Cassel to start next weekend but if I'm not mistaken, their public stance on the situation has been that Ponder is their starting QB. That's probably the least popular choice they could make but that's been their stance.
It's been pretty clear from the start that the team views Cassel as a backup. He was brought in to back up Ponder and that's been his role all along. He was only going to play if Ponder got hurt or played himself completely out of the job (in the eyes of the coaches—I realize he's already done that for most fans). I suspect we can rule him out as a player they need to evaluate over the next 12 games. I think they know what they have in Cassel and they know the role they want him to play. If he wants to be more than a backup, he'll probably void his deal after this season and move on to see if he can find a starting job elsewhere.
That leaves Ponder and Freeman and don't be surprised if this is still Ponder's job to lose. It could be that he's already lost it and Freeman will step in as soon as he's ready but it's possible this is a way of telling Ponder he's truly facing his last hurrah. Seize the job NOW or it's "next man up" and that man is Freeman.
They'll start evaluating Freeman immediately in practice. How much, if any, game time he sees will probably depend on how quickly he picks up the offense, how well he plays in practice and Ponder's performance.
How all of this plays into draft strategy can be figured out in the offseason. The Vikes don't need to worry about that now. The bottom line is their QB situation looks better than it did a year ago. They have more options which means they have more choices to make but ultimately, that's a good thing.
