The Minnesota Vikings are coming off of a disappointing season and after Matt Cassel voided his option for 2014 and re-signed, the team could look to make some moves regarding Christian Ponder, as they could trade him to the Christian Ponder Trade To Cleveland Browns, Oakland Raiders, Houston Texans or New York Jets now that Cassel is back.
UPDATED: The Vikings have brought back Matt Cassel. According to ESPN.com, Cassel and the Vikings have agreed on a two year deal, so ignore the fact that he is mentioned as a possibility of being signed, it happened after the writer wrote this.
The Vikings may end up signing back Cassel to be their starter, but he plans on at least testing the free agent market after being thrust into playing with the team last season and now he sees himself as a starter once again. Cassel had a great season with the New England Patriots the year Tom Brady was injured and nearly led the team to the playoffs and that brought him to Kansas City and after some initial success, he never lived up to his huge contract with the Chiefs. The fans booed him when he was injured and last season he joined up with Minnesota to be the backup for Christian Ponder and ended up starting six games on the schedule.
Cassel played in nine games overall and passed for over 1,800 yards and 11 touchdowns with nine interceptions and the Vikings could look at him as a short term starting option while Ponder continues to develop, or they could draft one of the young quarterbacks in the upcoming class, as they have a top 10 pick and could be in the mix for names like Teddy Bridgewater, Tajh Boyd and Derek Carr. Cassel was the starter for three wins and he came in for Ponder in the other two, meaning he was in the game for all five wins on the season and while he will be 32-years-old, the team could use him as a stopgap over the next two seasons as they move into their new stadium.
The free agent market has names like Michael Vick, Matt Flynn, Josh McCown and Chad Henne, while names like Matt Schaub and Mark Sanchez are expected to hit the market. The team also could look into trades for Schaub, Kirk Cousins or Ryan Mallett and those moves may be options for the Vikings combined with a top 10 pick to try and turn things around next season. A second round pick could be enough to get Cousins based on reports from Pro Football Talk and ESPN.com, but it's unclear whether the Washington Redskins will want to trade the backup for Robert Griffin III.
Vick is going to be 34 years old and he would be a short term option as well and that could be favorable for the team if they pick a young quarterback. The Vikings likely will not be able to snag Johnny Manziel without trading up and they could also look to later picks for names like Boyd, Aaron Murray, Zach Mettenberger, Logan Thomas, David Fales and David Carr as options. The Vikings have not gotten enough out of Ponder since he was a top 10 pick himself and now they are coming off of a 5-10-1 season that saw the team rank 23rd in passing yards allowed per game and with Mike Zimmer coming in and bringing Norv Turner, an offensive overhaul is expected.