The Minnesota Vikings had an impressive 2017 season. They won the NFC North, earned a bye in the playoffs, and were one game (albeit not a close game) away from being the first team ever to play a Super Bowl in its home stadium. Entering 2018, however, they have a QB conundrum.
After the season’s opening week, many expected that talented yet maligned journeyman Sam Bradford would have a career year playing QB for the men in purple. Back in Week 1, Bradford completed 85% of his passes against the Saints, throwing for 346 yards and 3 touchdowns en route to a Minnesota victory. However, injuries limited Bradford early on, as they have for much of his career.
Enter Case Keenum. The former Rams and Texans QB quickly established himself as more than “some backup,” managing games efficiently and leading the Vikings to win after win with the help of a reliable run game and a dominant defense. Keenum threw the ball accurately, recording a 67.7% completion rate, and he took care of the football, posting a solid 22-7 TD to INT ratio. Keenum made Vikings fans forget about Bradford, and his play assured everyone that promising young QB Teddy Bridgewater would remain on the bench after completing his long return from an ACL injury.
Back in 2015, Bridgewater led the Vikings to an 11-5 record and had the team a Blair Walsh kick away from beating the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. (Don’t worry, Walsh would later miss a game-tying field goal for the Seahawks that would torpedo their 2017 playoff hopes. Karma can be funny sometimes.). Many Vikings fans expected the two-glove-wearing wonder to lead their franchise into the future until a devastating knee injury kept Bridgewater out of the entire 2016 season and much of 2017.
The Vikings have a great roster and a solid coaching staff. Their defense is stout on all levels, Dalvin Cook and Latavius Murray provide a dynamic run game, and Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs make for one of the better receiver duos in the NFL. The only problem? All three of the aforementioned quarterbacks are currently free agents, and it is unclear whether any of them has what it takes to lead Minnesota to a Lombardi.
According to Vikings.com, Coach Mike Zimmer and GM Rick Spielman have made no decisions on the team’s QB situation, which means that all options are open. With a bottom-end pick, however, it is unlikely that the Vikings can find their 2018 QB in the draft. All of the “ready to play” guys will be gone long before Minnesota is on the clock with the 30th selection. A trade-up is always possible, but I doubt Spielman will mortgage significant future draft capital for a rookie quarterback.
That leaves free agency, and more specifically the belle of the free agent ball, as the solution to the Vikings’ QB conundrum: Kirk Cousins. The Vikings have $47 million in cap space and a great offensive mind in OC John Defilippo, the former Eagles QB coach who helped develop Carson Wentz. Of the contenders likely to sign Cousins (the Jets, Vikings, and Broncos), Minnesota gives Cousins the best chance to win now. I think the Vikings will move on from Bridgewater, Keenum, and Bradford. They will sign Cousins to a lucrative but short-term deal loaded with guaranteed money. This kind of contract allows him to hit the free agent market again soon should he so choose, and the Vikings will draft a backup like Kyle Lauletta or Luke Faulk in the mid-rounds of the draft to learn under Cousins and Defilippo.
You heard it here first: Minnesota will say goodbye to their three rostered quarterbacks and welcome in Captain Kirk.
(Image Via The Star Tribune)
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