Vikings general manager Rick Spielman addressed a couple of the rumors circulating around the Vikings, during a press conference prior to the start of the NFL Draft, on Thursday.
The Vikings and Rams had been rumored to be discussing a possible trade involving Rams quarterback Sam Bradford.
Spielman said he had no specific talks with the Rams about a deal for Bradford. On Monday, St. Louis maintained they are committed to Bradford as their starting quarterback, although they have done a lot of homework on some of the top quarterbacks in this year’s draft class.
Rick Spielman: No specific talks with Rams about Bradford http://t.co/ZNxsMmW6Vl
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) May 6, 2014
But, according to Pro Football Talk, Spielman isn’t going to telegraph the Vikings intentions for the next few days. So no specific talks on Tuesday could become very specific talks by Wednesday morning.
Spielman also said the team has no plans to trade Christian Ponder during the draft, even though they chose not to pick up his option for 2015 last week.
"Not willing to trade Ponder, not talking to the Rams, what is Rick Spielman doing leading up to the draft?" http://t.co/RhUMmuywt6 #Vikings
— KFAN1003 (@KFAN1003) May 6, 2014
“That would leave us with one quarterback,” Spielman said. “We are going to need two quarterbacks, three.”
The only other quarterback currently on the Vikings roster other than Ponder is Matt Cassel. Cassel signed a new two-year contract to remain with the Vikings in the offseason.
Ponder hasn’t been consistent since the Vikings drafted him in 2011. The team chose not to pick up his 2015 option last week.
Spielman said not picking up Ponder’s option was a “business decision.” 1500 ESPN reports Ponder would have been due around $10 million in 2015 had the Vikings exercised the option.
According to KFAN, if the Vikings had a chance to add a quarterback prior to the draft, like a Bradford, there is a very real possibility the Vikings would then look to deal Ponder.
