Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said he is excited to get back to work in training camp next month in Mankato.
Zimmer held a press conference after the Vikings final minicamp practice on Thursday. He thought for the most part it was a very crisp practice and he said he “thought the guys were into it.”
He said during the press conference that he has a much better feeling for the players as far as how to coach a lot of them. He said though a few questions still remain.
One of those questions is exactly what the Vikings will do at quarterback in 2014. Zimmer has said its an open competition between rookie Teddy Bridgewater and veterans Matt Cassel and Christian Ponder.
Zimmer said he has a date in mind for when he’ll make a decision, but he wasn’t willing to share that, Thursday.
Zimmer made one thing very clear at the press conference, though.
The Vikings will not be afraid to start Bridgewater at quarterback, if he proves he is the best man for the job.
“We as Vikings are not afraid to do anything,” said Zimmer. “We’re going to make sure that we’re diligent in getting this team prepared the best we can and we’re hoping that we can continue to compete for jobs and get the guys out there ready to go.”
According to 1500 ESPN, Bridgewater was 50-for-57 in 11-on-11 drills during minicamp and threw a much better deep ball than many expected.
https://twitter.com/GoesslingESPN/status/479685606436376576
Viking Update reports Cassel continued to get the first crack at first-team reps with most sessions in practices, but Bridgewater appears to be gaining ground.
He connected on 13 of 14 passes before getting to the two-minute drill, where he was 8 of nine with a dropped pass.
The plan for Bridgewater will become more clear once the team reconvenes for training camp. Don’t forget that Zimmer came to the Vikings from Cincinnati and the Bengals started Andy Dalton at quarterback, as a rookie.
