The Minnesota Vikings are coming off of a rough season and heading into the future they could look to trade Christian Ponder to the Houston Texans or Cleveland Browns, as Teddy Bridgewater may take over the backup or starting position in 2014 if he competes well against Matt Cassel in training camp this summer.
Bridgewater was taken with the number 32 pick in the first round and the Minnesota Vikings had to trade back into the round after missing out on Johnny Manziel and that is one reason why Bridgewater has the inside track over Ponder. While Ponder was picked higher than Bridgewater when he was drafted, he has not been able to play well on a consistent basis and the Vikings do not see him as a starter anymore after his performance last season. Ponder split time with Matt Cassel and did not win any games on his own as the team went 5-10-1 and now that Bridgewater is in, Ponder's future in Minnesota is likely over.
The Vikings did not pick up the fifth year option on Ponder and while that was expected since the salary for 2015 would have been $9.686 million, it's not a good sign for his future with the franchise. GM Rick Spielman said that the team is not planning on trading Ponder right now, but that could change over the summer and during the season. Injuries happen all the time and players like Christian Ponder, Ryan Mallett, Ryan Nassib and Kirk Cousins could be in high demand come September.
The Vikings are comfortable keeping Ponder and having him compete with Matt Cassel and Teddy Bridgewater this summer in training camp. According to ESPN.com, head coach Mike Zimmer said that Bridgewater would get some first team reps and if that's the case, he could prove himself good enough to be the starter. Russell Wilson won the starting job with the Seahawks after beating Matt Flynn in training camp and Bridgewater could try and do the same with Cassel this season.
Norv Turner is coming in as the new offensive coordinator for Mike Zimmer and Turner said that he likes what he has seen from both Ponder and Bridgewater. Ponder can get himself into good position with his performance in camp, as he could end up as the backup for Cassel while Bridgewater learns as the third stringer, but it looks like all three will at least get a chance to prove themselves. The Vikings felt picking up Ponder's option was not worth it based on his play and now he has to go out and prove that he is worth another deal from either the Vikings or another team.
Adrian Peterson trade rumors will come up once again if the team is bad and they have to try and rebound from a 5-10-1 season and they will be playing outdoors at the University of Minnesota. The team ranked 23rd in the league in passing yards last season and eighth in rushing and they need to get that more balanced./ The defense was terrible against the pass, ranking second to last in the league with over 285 yards allowed per game and the team is hoping that Xavier Rhodes can help lock that down after being a first round pick last season.
