The Minnesota Vikings have moved on from the 12th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. While Christian Ponder remains on the Vikings roster, he is third on the depth chart and has rarely been seen in training camp.
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer has Matt Cassel and 2014 first round pick Teddy Bridgewater competing for the starters spot.
Ponder still has one-year left on his rookie contract which is valued at $1.76 million but ESPN 1500’s Judd Zulgad reports that the former first round pick is “safe to make the assumption that Zimmer and Turner are going to be comfortable with Bridgewater being either the starter or the backup to Cassel.”
With many NFL teams choosing to go with just two quarterbacks on their 53-man roster one has to wonder if the Vikings will simply cut Cassel prior to the start of the regular season. Either way his contract is guaranteed.
In nine games last season Ponder completed 63.9-percent of his passes for 1,648 yards to go with seven touchdowns and nine interceptions.