Quarterback Dilemma in Minnesota

As we go deeper and deeper into the offseason, the Minnesota Vikings look to be the team that has the most interesting quarterback situation.

The Vikings currently have just one quarterback under contract, Kyle Sloter.

Case Keenum, Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Bradford are going to be free agents. Minnesota signed Keenum to a one-year deal last year, but did not place the franchise tag on him this year. This could lead him to sign a decent contract for a team that is in need of a signal-caller.

The beloved Bridgewater, who sat out all of the 2016 season with a knee injury, came back at the end of the 2017 season. Though his playing time was short last season, it was a heartwarming sight to see him back under center for the purple and gold, even if his two passes resulted in an interception and a bad drop.

The Vikings opted not to pick up Bridgewater’s final year of his contract and allow him to become a free agent this year. They opted out before his return this season for the fact that they didn’t know how he was going to return from injury and save themselves money if he wasn’t able to return.

Bradford came over after the injury to Bridgewater and played well for the Vikings, completing 71.6 percent of his passes for an NFL record at the time. This year saw Bradford’s history of injuries continue. He suffered a knee injury early in the season, which laid way for Keenum to lead the Vikings to the NFC Championship game.

I would like the Vikings to resign two of these guys back, Keenum and Bridgewater. To me, a guy that brought you as far as a conference championship game is hard to let go. Bridgewater was slated as the future of the organization and showed a lot of promise, helping the Vikings reach the playoffs in 2015. If the Vikings sign both and let them battle for the starting spot, then they could have a good backup to help if injuries hit the starter again, or one could be possible trade bait for other teams in need of a quarterback.

There is tough competition for teams needing a quarterback this upcoming season as the Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals are a few teams that a solid quarterback could push them over the edge. Other teams like the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers are teams that either need a quarterback to help build or for the future.

A possible option is going after free agent Kirk Cousins. Any team that has a need of a signal-caller would be stupid not to look at Cousins, a well-rounded quarterback that can help a team get over the hump. A couple downfalls that would hurt the Vikings is his price and how familiar they are with Cousins. Cousins’ price tag will be big, and they could use the money on other positions, especially with head coach Mike Zimmer being a defensive guy.

The Vikings are very familiar with Keenum and Bridgewater. Having one of those two will be easier with new offensive coordinator John DeFilippo. Pluses for the Vikings are that they are close to Cousins’ home, who is from Michigan and played collegiately at Michigan State, and Minnesota is built to win now, which Cousins could be looking for.

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