The Minnesota Vikings didn’t sign Josh Freeman to sit on the bench, and after a short period of getting used to his new team, the fifth-year quarterback will probably get his first start for his new team in their next game, which happens to be on Monday Night Football against the win-less New York Giants.
The only win the Vikings have this season is against the Pittsburgh Steelers, with Matt Cassel starting in Christian Ponder’s place. The Steelers were also at 0 wins at the time.
But in the 35-10 defeat to the Carolina Panthers, it turns out that Cassel might not be the answer; not for this season, and not for the future. With the playoffs looking like a distant dream after the 1-4 start, one of the things the Vikings should try and do in what remains of this season is figuring out who is going to be their quarterback of the future.
Vikings are seriously considering starting Josh Freeman this weekend
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) October 16, 2013
Cassel, as you might have guessed, isn’t the answer. While Ponder has been, well, disappointing since beginning his career for the Vikings, regardless of the offensive line they have and the receivers he has to throw to. He’s thrown only two touchdown passes all season, but has thrown five interceptions. His 65.9 passer rating is ranked 32nd in the NFL, which pretty much makes him the worst quarterback in the league right now.
But is Josh Freeman the answer? Nothing from what we’ve seen from him in the first three games of the season proves to be indication that he can. Freeman, being part of the awful start by the Bucs, at least for the first three games, completed only 45.7% of his passes, throwing two touchdown passes and three interceptions with a passer rating of 59.3. However, playing for a head coach that hates you and possibly leaked your NFL drug program status doesn’t really help your own individual numbers, let alone your team.
Freeman, into his fifth NFL season, is still one huge question mark. Inconsistency is probably the most sure thing you can say about him. Last year started out very well, but he threw nine interceptions on the final three games of the season, as the Bucs collapsed with only two wins in their final seven games. Schiano, probably then, decided along with Dominik, that Freeman isn’t going to be his quarterback.
The Vikings have nothing to lose, and Freeman can’t possibly do much worse than what we’ve seen from Ponder or from Cassell. Who knows, he might even prove he deserves a long term deal.