Despite what internet rumors may repeat over and over, the Minnesota Vikings are not in the market for a quarterback. Well, a QB1 anyway. Kirk Cousins has held this position, maintaining the Vikings’ signaling functions since the beginning of 2018. In that period, Cousins recorded the fifth highest number of touchdowns (91) and recorded the seventh best passer in the league (103.6) in the championship.
Not bad for a quarterback who rotates in an endless cycle of commercial rumors.
Except for a shock exchange, Cousins will be the Vikings’ full-back in 2021 – and probably in 2022 too, unless the team faces an unimpressive 2021 campaign. If that happens, fasten your seat belt because the change in wholesale will affect Eagan, Minnesota.
So, when CBS Sports‘Cody Benjamin indifferently listed the Vikings as a possible destination for Teddy Bridgewater, Nick Young’s memes of confusion surfaced. What do Vikings need Teddy Bridgewater?
Benjamin did not offer an opinion on the reasoning behind a Minnesota-Bridgewater meeting, but the Vikings are in fact listed as a likely landing site along with the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans.
Will General Manager Rick Spielman entertain Bridgewater’s return to the 2021 team?
More about CBS Sports’ claim
In Benjamin’s analysis, he speculates that 10 veteran quarterbacks may be on the move if the rumors go well. Obviously, ten of these players will not be traded en masse, so consider Benjamin’s job to be hypothetical brainstorming.
In Bridgewater, he wrote:
“It is fitting that he is after Garoppolo, because his profiles are alarmingly similar. Although Jimmy was more prolific when healthy, both QBs had major injury problems, thrived on high percentage pitches and generally settled in “useful, but not elite” territory. Bridgewater is a good presence in the locker room that he can capitalize on with a good support cast, but he needs a lot of help. “
Again, CBS Sports it makes no mention of Bridgewater’s role for Vikings. Perhaps Minnesota would excavate the considerable contract from Cousins. Perhaps the Panthers released Bridgewater immediately, swallowing a huge blow.
Without context, Benjamin’s prognosis would make almost sense if Bridgewater joined Minnesota in a vile deal with the Vikings – updating the QB2 place.
Bridgewater in QB2 in a small business?
Now, that – it’s a cunning general management. If Bridgewater is released (a long shot due to his dead limit reaching Carolina’s budget) or if he is negotiated and then dismissed by a different team, bringing Bridgewater home is a full circle thought.
Sean Mannion has been the reserve quarterback for the Vikings for the past two seasons. That’s right – the man who never gave a single pass to the NFL touchdown. Cousins did not need a spare quarterback in his career, as he never lost a game due to injury. In fact, Cousins, Russel Wilson, Philip Rivers and Tom Brady are the only ones who call attention to not losing any games due to injury since early 2012 (although Brady was suspended and Cousins was prevented from a 2019 game for formality of playoff purposes).
Vikings are in good hands, with Cousins at the helm in terms of durability. But if he lost time due to an injury, Bridgewater would be a wonderful reservist option.
Vikings have no infrastructure for the QB1 Bridgewater
If Benjamin did no means that Bridgewater would be a backup, well, things get weird. Would the Vikings really send the message to Cousins in favor of a nostalgic quarterback like Bridgewater? The guy who, until today, has a ceiling of 15 touchdowns a year? Boy, that would be weird.
There was a time, half a decade ago, when Minnesota could skate with a prolific football pitcher. This was evidenced in 2015, when the Vikings reached a lost basket of a winning tiebreaker. Still, that team had a robust and emerging defense. Minnesota’s defense in 2020 was terrible and a cosmic departure from any defense led by Zimmer between 2014 and 2019.
For the sake of argument, let’s spit out the notion that Spielman is quietly fed up with Cousins and eager to start a new chapter in QB1. He would not resort to a player who performs 15 touchdowns a year – not with a defense trying to escape the odor of 2020. Minnesota ranked 29º in the NFL at allowed points and 27º in yards allowed last season. Testing Bridgewater for a show in QB1 when the defense is in limbo “maybe they’ll be back in shape” is inappropriate for a franchise that is looking forward to winning now.
But, hey, if CBS Sports‘the vision is to teleport Bridgewater back to the glory days of 2015, Vikings should seize Teddy for QB2 for a miniscule price. Bridgewater has the DNA to be one of the best QB2s in the league. Most Vikings enthusiasts would register this transaction in the blink of an eye.
