Christian Ponder is no fool. He sees the writing on the wall when it comes to his future with the Minnesota Vikings. After being deemed healthy from a rib injury, head coach Leslie Frazier opted to start Matt Cassel over the third-year starter. The team then signed Josh Freeman, a starting quarterback in his own right, to add to the roster. Now Ponder is left to make some crucial decisions about his career.
Ponder has not demanded a trade, but he certainly is not ruling one out. The quarterback has come a long ways from being drafted in the first-round back in 2011. Currently sitting as No. 2 on the depth chart, he might not even be active on Sunday as the Vikings are considering starting Freeman over both Ponder and Cassel. The quarterback is not considering if it is time to part ways with Minnesota.
"I don't know. Again, I have to figure out what's best for me and everything and for this team," Ponder said, via the Pioneer Press. "I don't know if that's staying here or going somewhere else."
Ponder was the unanimous starting quarterback in training camp. Even when the team signed Matt Cassel, it was understood he was merely a backup. However, Ponder struggled heavily at the start of the year, failing to get Minnesota a win. After a rib injury knocked him out, Cassel started Week 4 and got the win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He then led the team to a blowout loss to the Carolina Panthers. Now it is Freeman's turn to try and turn the Vikings into the right direction.
Leslie Frazier and company have not given up hope on Ponder even if he is starting to give up on the team. On Wednesday, the coach said the team would be moving forward with Freeman as the starter for Minnesota, but they were still very heavily invested in Ponder. That investment might just be from a money standpoint and nothing more.
"For this season, and for this ballgame -- primarily this ballgame -- he's going to be our backup quarterback," Frazier said. "There's still so much more football to be played, and there's so many things that can happen to the remaining parts of this season, I don't want to pigeonhole Christian by any means. Josh, we're hoping he does well. That's why we're putting him in the lineup. If something were to happen and Christian had to get in there, we'd expect Christian to play well, also. We'll see how it goes as time goes on."
Frazier notes that he did not foresee any kind of situation occurring that would mean Ponder was no longer on the roster for the Vikings. However, he might just be talking about for this season. The chances Ponder is on the Minnesota roster in 2014 is slim to none. Ponder is prepared to play in Week 7 if Freeman struggles as teammates praise the quarterback for truly taking the high road in this situation.
"You understand that it's not about you, it's about the team," Ponder 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."
