Josh Freeman is making people forget about Christian Ponder and Matt Cassel already… and he hasn’t even taken a single snap for the Vikings.
Ponder, now healed from a rib injury, will be the backup quarterback Monday in New York. Cassel, who started each of the last two games, slides all the way to third on the depth chart.
Ponder is a first-round draft pick. His intentions are to start. The Pioneer Press asked Ponder if being traded was something he would be open to.
“I don’t know. Again, I have to figure out what’s best for me and everything and for this team,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s staying here or going somewhere else.”
Coach Leslie Frazier said that he doesn’t want to “pigeon-hole” Ponder as a full-time backup, but for now, the starting job is Freeman’s. Ponder says he understands the decision.
“You understand that it’s not about you, it’s about the team,” he said. “For me, it’s still understanding there’s things that I can work on at practice and get better at, so I still focus on myself and what I can do. But the reality is, people’s jobs are on the line and we have to win games, otherwise people’s families are affected. This is the ultimate team game, not for players but as coaches.”
As of now, Ponder is just another name on the growing list of starting quarterbacks the Vikings have had since Daunte Culpepper.
Want that hallowed list of #Vikings QBs since Culpepper tore his knee? How about: Brad Johnson, Tarvaris Jackson, Kelly Holcomb…
— Brian Hall (@MNBrianHall) October 16, 2013
…Brooks Bollinger, Gus Frerotte, Brett Favre, Joe Webb, Donovan McNabb, Christian Ponder, Matt Cassel and now Freeman. #Vikings
— Brian Hall (@MNBrianHall) October 16, 2013
