Josh Freeman will not be the latest “missed opportunity” when it comes to the Minnesota Vikings and their troubled history at the quarterback position. He may not be the savior either, as he carries some baggage with him, but we will not have to wonder “what if” when it comes to this 25 year old unexpectedly becoming a mid-season free agent.
Reports, confirmed on Twitter by Freeman’s agent, announced late Sunday night that Freeman picked the Vikings as his next team and has joined the team on a one year deal.
The move will be dissected and scrutinized all week long (and beyond), but there is very little at risk here other than some cap space, and Rick Spielman should get some credit for taking such a proactive approach at such an important position.
Christian Ponder, Matt Cassel, and McLeod Bethel-Thompson each face some uncertainty this week as it seems unlikely that the team goes forward with four quarterbacks and Joe Webb on the roster. The most likely scenario perhaps involves sending Ponder (ribs) the the injured reserve.
We’ll be monitoring the situation as it progresses, so be sure to check back in for the latest.
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How do you feel about this move Adam? I think this could be a pretty sly move if things pan out. Sometimes a change of scenery makes a big difference.
If there is a downside to this move I don't have any idea what it is. A chance at an up-close extended audition with a potential franchise QB... beats the hell out of letting Adrian get old as we develop another rookie (which may still have to happen).
Ponder is either not the answer because of his lack of talent, lack of presence, or lack of durability... pick one (or all). They didn't want another veteran stop-gap (Cassel) or else they would have shown SOME sort of interest in Peyton. MBT would be too risky.
Spielman just needed a nudge to move on... and a 25 year old qb with some success in his past was that nudge.
I agree. To me, it is a low risk move that could pay big dividends in the long run. If they do not like what they see, then next year the QB draft class is deep.
oh, how i would love to be in the next meeting of the vike's QBs and coaches
You hit the nail on the head bringing up the chance to score a franchise QB without the rookie learning curve. If he's a head case they can cut him a couple weeks from now. I think Freeman was in a bad situation out in Tampa, hopefully he embraces the 2nd chance and Frazier is the type of coach that will mesh well with him. How he fits in with Musgrave could be another matter but we'll see how it goes. Even if he ends up not playing a snap for us in the regular season and leaves as a free agent, he would then count in our compensation pick formula for 2015. The money is surprising to me, I thought he would be getting a minimum contract, but that's the only thing about this I don't love at the moment.
Yea Baby! Now we have 3 below average QB's with some sort of past success. Somehow this makes the Vikings better? I guess it improves the odds. How bout they sign some more? Too bad they missed the boat on Peyton Manning.
It would be kinda funny if they traded Ponder to Buffalo so he could be his college back-ups backup. Manuel is supposed to be out for a month or so with a knee sprain. Short-term IR would make a ton of sense for Ponder.
So who gets the ax now? Ponder to ir makes sense short term but won't solve the problem.
I would send Ponder to season ending IR then keep Freeman in the line up to learn the offense.
At this point, I agree.
Well, fasten your seatbelts, here we go.
I assume Ponder or Cassel will be on the move shortly (Toby as well?)
Perhaps Vikes are all in. 1 game back in the WC.....NFC is off to a very soft start and the Vikes have more than enough talent to make it happen. I was against Freeman, but I guess I trust Spielman/ Frazier enough on the character issues. Shiano is a bag of epic proportions, so I'm going to blame it on him in Tampa.
Interesting times in the land of the Vikings.
well, he sure comes cheap, money only, $3 mil. on a one yr. deal, and he was a first rounder
maybe we can get a pick in a trade for one of our QBs
This will be the final nail in the coffin of Les Frazier's NFL head coaching career.
By signing Freeman, SpeilMullin is attempting to make himself blameless for a losing season.
That being said, I hope Josh Freeman leads the Vikings to a Super Bowl victory
....... better than that drunk driving, wife beating, penis photo sharing bent favre
I think this is a great move by Spielman. He is a roster master a 25 year old first round qb with absolutely nothing to lose? And if he doesn't resign here he will probably get a deal big enough elsewhere(Oakland!) to give us a decent compensatory pick.
Do I think Freeman is the answer? No, but I think there is a chance he could be effective enough to make the salary worth while(yes its technically "Just salary cap" but hes still being given more money than some of us will make in our lives to audition here). He could also be a couple year band-aid and help develop a rookie if thats the route we want to go.
I personally am all aboard the Johnny Manziel bandwagon; the kid can just play the same way RG3, Russel Wilson, Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers can. Hes not a traditional quarterback but he can play. He basically beat a NFL defense last year IN ALABAMA with a college offense around him.
I also want to throw out an idea I had before the Freeman acquisition; The announcers were talking about Cam Newton becoming a bust in Carolina and how a change of scenery could help him while still providing some trade value for Carolina. This made me think about a Jon Baldwin/AJ Jenkins trade.
What would you guys think of trading Ponder(plus maybe Gerhart) for Newton try to see if changing teams could reboot their careers?
Obviously, this move surprises me as I had previously stated I was pretty sure it would not happen. I must say it confuses me, as it appears to give us more of the same at QB. You don't typically acquire FA championship QB's in mid-season. I wonder about the locker room implications of such a move at this juncture of the season. I guess what this move means depends on the roster move they make as a result, but for now it appears to be sending some mixed messages.
For what its worth, I want to record that at the time of this acquisition, the Vikings rank 5th in the league in scoring points per game, and 29th in points allowed. Josh Freeman isn't going to turn us into the Denver Broncos, which is about the only offense this defense seems capable of supporting. I would prefer to see them looking for FA help at LB and CB rather than QB.
Completely agree Coach...more of the same at QB position.
Agree on LB, for damn sure. Who's tops on your personal list?
Well, let's see... Jeff Siemon, Roy Winston, Matt Blair...
I would love that trade skol but Carolina would be dumb to do it. Ponders a worse qb and they already have an excess at hb. We'd have to give them 2 or 3 1std for that to work