01-24-2018, 05:08 PM
As the Vikings’ feel-good season of 2017 played out before our eyes we knew this day was coming. We just didn’t know when and members of the franchise, and fans alike, were hoping it would be after a Super Bowl parade.That possibility came to an abrupt and ugly end on Sunday as the Eagles ran the Vikings off the field in Philadelphia in the NFC title game. So on Tuesday coach Mike Zimmer gave his end-of-season press conference at Winter Park, fielding a variety of questions about the direction of the franchise.
None was more important than the ones involving the Vikings’ plan at quarterback. For all the success the Vikings had in going 13-3 this season, and then winning an NFC Divisional playoff game against New Orleans in miraculous fashion, this team has little certainty at the most important position in sports.
Case Keenum, the starting quarterback for much of 2017; Sam Bradford, the guy who entered the season as the starting QB and lasted one game before a sore knee wrecked his year; and Teddy Bridgewater, who is on the mend from a gruesome knee injury suffered in August 2016, all are due to become free agents this March.
The national folks assume that Keenum is a slam dunk to return, either playing under the franchise tag or with a rich multiyear contract that he couldn’t have possibly expected when the career backup signed a one-year, $2 million contract with Minnesota last spring to serve as Bradford’s backup.
Keenum, who will turn 30 on Feb. 17, was 11-3 as the Vikings’ starter, throwing for 3,547 yards with 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Keenum had never started more than nine games in his previous four seasons and his success, and likability, made for a great story.
His teammates rallied around him and his struggles in the Vikings’ opening playoff game were overshadowed by his last-second 61-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs that provided one of the most memorable moments in Vikings history.
The feeling was that if Keenum had gotten the Vikings to the Super Bowl it would be impossible not to bring him back, even though Zimmer never seemed to be completely sold on him. Evidence that Zimmer lacked faith in Keenum was everywhere. He refused to name Keenum his starter for much of the season. He said Keenum had a “horseshoe” after a 24-7 win in November over the Rams. He said he became comfortable with Keenum “four or five weeks ago,” in late December.
Zimmer seemed to always be ready for Keenum’s magic to disappear. That began to happen in the second half against the Saints. It was fully gone by Sunday as Keenum threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in the red zone against the Eagles.
So where do Zimmer and the Vikings turn now?
The feeling here is it won’t be to Keenum.
http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/0...ust-teddy/
None was more important than the ones involving the Vikings’ plan at quarterback. For all the success the Vikings had in going 13-3 this season, and then winning an NFC Divisional playoff game against New Orleans in miraculous fashion, this team has little certainty at the most important position in sports.
Case Keenum, the starting quarterback for much of 2017; Sam Bradford, the guy who entered the season as the starting QB and lasted one game before a sore knee wrecked his year; and Teddy Bridgewater, who is on the mend from a gruesome knee injury suffered in August 2016, all are due to become free agents this March.
The national folks assume that Keenum is a slam dunk to return, either playing under the franchise tag or with a rich multiyear contract that he couldn’t have possibly expected when the career backup signed a one-year, $2 million contract with Minnesota last spring to serve as Bradford’s backup.
Keenum, who will turn 30 on Feb. 17, was 11-3 as the Vikings’ starter, throwing for 3,547 yards with 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Keenum had never started more than nine games in his previous four seasons and his success, and likability, made for a great story.
His teammates rallied around him and his struggles in the Vikings’ opening playoff game were overshadowed by his last-second 61-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs that provided one of the most memorable moments in Vikings history.
The feeling was that if Keenum had gotten the Vikings to the Super Bowl it would be impossible not to bring him back, even though Zimmer never seemed to be completely sold on him. Evidence that Zimmer lacked faith in Keenum was everywhere. He refused to name Keenum his starter for much of the season. He said Keenum had a “horseshoe” after a 24-7 win in November over the Rams. He said he became comfortable with Keenum “four or five weeks ago,” in late December.
Zimmer seemed to always be ready for Keenum’s magic to disappear. That began to happen in the second half against the Saints. It was fully gone by Sunday as Keenum threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in the red zone against the Eagles.
So where do Zimmer and the Vikings turn now?
The feeling here is it won’t be to Keenum.
http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/0...ust-teddy/
