All Of The Vikings Quarterbacks Contracts Are Up, So Who Starts Next Year?
While some fans don't even want to think about football right now, others are left with a lot of questions. What happened to our vaunted defense? How will the departure of Pat Shurmur impact the offense? Who is our starting quarterback next year?
That last one is interesting. Many fans would argue that the defense is who let the team down in the NFC Championship in Philadelphia, yet others want to hate on Keenum for some bad decisions and an inability to spark anything on offense. This puts the season-saving backup (that was making a case - no pun intended - for a starting job) in an interesting spot.
All three of the Minnesota Vikings' quarterbacks (we won't count Kyle Sloter) are at the end of their deals with the team and are all set to hit free agency. Fan favorite Teddy Bridgewater said Monday that he sees himself as a starter in 2018, whether for the Vikings or another team. Coming off the injury over a year removed from the game, not knowing where he might be developmentally makes Teddy a hard bargain for some, especially for a team that is in their "win now" window. Sam Bradford's knee issues that popped up this season and a history of injury problems make him a major risk to rely on in 2018.
Then there's Case. He had the best season of his career and was one of the better quarterbacks in the league this year. Critics have said that Keenum's rise to success in his sixth year in the league shows he is the product of a good system, which is leaving as Pat Shurmur departs for a job in New York. He was half of the Minnesota Miracle, but he did have some costly interceptions in both playoff games that impacted the team's momentum. When asked by the media on Monday if he has any idea what the team would like to do with him moving forward, Kevin Seifert of ESPN reports Case has gotten no indication either way from the team of what their future plans are.
So, here we are again; a team with a history of quarterback troubles that could theoretically be without any of our potential starters in 2018. There are some big free agency names (namely Drew Brees and Kirk Cousins - but also including names like Josh McCown, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Mark Sanchez, and Brock Osweiler) and there's always the draft, but wasn't it nice rolling into the 2017 season knowing the quarterback position was locked up? Put yourself in the general manager's shoes for a moment as you assess the team and get ready for the offseason. Who do you look to offer a deal to at quarterback for 2018?