Minnesota Vikings: 2018 Quarterback quandary breakdown

The Minnesota Vikings fell one game shy of the Super Bowl, but now it’s a quarterback quandary that the team faces in the 2018 offseason.

No matter how poor or successful a team’s season was, there are always major offseason questions on the front burner. The NFL turns over too much for even the best teams to advance a calendar year unscathed. Let’s continue the team-by-team overview with the Minnesota Vikings.

The Minnesota Vikings overachieved last season in some main respects. Thanks to a great defense and play-making on offense, they overcame the losses of their starting quarterback and running back. But now, that has at least partially led to the franchise’s biggest question this offseason. What should the Vikings do at quarterback?

Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate the Minnesota Vikings in today’s NFL Sports Debate.

Todd Salem:

All of Case Keenum, Sam Bradford, and Teddy Bridgewater are entering free agency. All three also ranked in NFL.com’s list last month of the top free agents of 2018. Bradford was the Minnesota starter in Week 1 and actually was spectacular in that contest. Perhaps he was on his way to his best season as a pro, led by Pat Shurmur and buoyed by those receivers.

Instead, it was Keenum who put together his own best season as a pro. Does that mean there is little difference between Bradford and Keenum? Did Keenum breakout? Can Bradford ever stay healthy enough for a team to rely on him as its number-one passer?

There are so many unknowns, and on top of that, Bridgewater is coming off a lost season and probably has the highest ceiling of the three.

Minnesota has oodles of possibilities here, assuming the three men have interest in returning to the Vikings. The team could re-sign two to short-term or team-friendly deals and have them battle it out for the starting job. This would obviously depend on the players’ wants. Minnesota could also make a hard decision and sign one to be the guy. Or, it could move on from all three and look to someone like Kirk Cousins to be the franchise quarterback.

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Adding Cousins could be the cleanest and, perhaps, the best for the squad, though the most expensive. Personally, I find it hard to completely give up on Bridgewater. If there is any way to bring him back for what amounts to backup quarterback money, that has to be a move made. I don’t know what the market will dictate for a player who has only thrown two total passes in the last two years. We also don’t know how he feels about the Vikings, since they didn’t really give him any chance to play last year after he was medically cleared. That was clearly because Keenum was playing well, but it could still stick in the craw of a proud man.

I guess this comes down to a belief in Keenum as the number-one guy versus moving on and/or taking a chance on Bridgewater’s comeback. Bradford seems like the only one guaranteed to move elsewhere, at which point he will surely get a chance to start for someone else. Minnesota just had one of the best seasons of any team in the league, and yet it has a great unknown at the most important spot on the field.

Dan Salem:

Kirk Cousins is the best option for Minnesota if money was no object. Unfortunately, the Vikings must pay and field a complete football team. I don’t believe Cousins’ upside justifies the expense for the Vikings. If the team did in fact overachieve last season, which I don’t believe to be a true or fair statement, then they need to fill some holes outside of quarterback. This team was too close to a championship to break the bank on one player.

Minnesota should save a little money and bring back Teddy Bridgewater. He was excellent before getting injured and I personally view him as the best of the three Vikings signal callers. Bridgewater won’t command a hefty price because he hasn’t played recently. I would also sign Bradford as the backup, since he too is coming off an injury. We know he can step in and win, but we don’t know if he can maintain such success over a full season.

The reason I leave Keenum out of this discussion is because he has earned a payday. He will be a starting quarterback next season with a five year contract that’s heavy on incentives. I loved his play last year, but I don’t believe Minnesota can bring him back for a price worth spending. His money will be a tier below Cousins record deal, but a tier too high for the Vikings to spend. If Keenum is willing to take less money to be Minnesota’s starter, then the Vikings must snatch him up. He’s a proven winner who excelled with their offense. I don’t see him passing on the money, however. He earned it.

Next: 2018 NFL Mock Draft: Full two-round projection

With the Vikings signing Bridgewater and Bradford, they are taking a calculated risk. Both players are returning from injury and both excelled prior to getting hurt. The team can let both compete for the starting job and considering each held it at one point and lost it due to injury, this is a reasonably copacetic competition. Bridgewater is going to excel once again. He has time on his side. Bradford might not start again, unless as an injury replacement. The age on his arm and the number of injuries has piled up on him as a player.