Vikings QB Christian Ponder underwent MRI

Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback Christian Ponder did not miss a single game in the regular season, but he did have some elbow issues in his right, throwing arm and thus missed the team’s Wild Card game against the rival Green Bay Packers. According to Ben Goessling of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Christian Ponder said that he underwent an MRI on his right elbow “several weeks” after the season, as the “bruised swelled up again”. On the bright side, Goessling adds that Ponder stated he is “fine now”.

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Ponder has always dealt with nagging arm injuries, and this stems back to the injury-prone stigma he earned when coming out of college as a star for the Florida State Seminoles. Although this injury only costed him one game, you have to wonder how much it affected him last season and if it will have a major effect throughout his career.

In 2013, Ponder will be entering a year that has been described as “make-or-break” by many, and he will have to prove that his accurate arm can lead him to be a solid starter in this league. Ponder is still the man to lead the Vikings next season, and we’ll see if he can maintain that status.

The specific elbow injury that Ponder suffered from was a actually a triceps bruise in his right arm, and this is different from the myriad of shoulder issues that Ponder suffered from (and had surgeries on) in college. Ponder did not need a surgery on this triceps injury, though, just an MRI on his elbow. It’s great to hear that he is doing well, as Ponder will need to be healthy to improve on his numbers next season and affirm his status as “the guy” in Minnesota.

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