QB quandry

[Win TWINS!!!]

This. Trading for Alex Smith (which won't be cheap) isn't "Going all in"; it's guaranteeing they probably regress to either a wildcard or divisional round playoff loss next season. He's not bad, but making a Superbowl run with him would require more reliable defense than we had in the big games this past season, and an improved O-line. Might as well resign Keenum to a new deal instead of trading draft picks and/or players away for Alex Smith and use the savings from not making a trade to upgrade other aspects of the roster.

"Going all in" would be signing Drew Brees, or something of that nature. Even rolling the dice on Bradford's health and signing him back as the starter while trying to make more improvements to the O-line would be preferable to trading away whatever it would cost to get Alex Smith. Alex Smith isn't going to be the QB to get us over the NFC championship slumps.

I don't think he'd be any worse than Keenum, Bradford or Teddy. He's durable. Protects the ball. Accurate, and can throw downfield. Locking up any of the other 3 is too big a gamble and ties the Vikings down. This window isn't going to stay open forever....... guys get banged up, guys move on. The time is now, and most of the picks we have (5 total), are not going to make a big enough impact. If I'm not mistaken, we have around $55 MM or more in cap space this year.... $20 of which, could easily go to Smith, and maybe extend him a year or 2, front loading this upcoming year.

I wouldn't gamble on Bradford's long-term health. I'm not ready to gamble on Teddy taking the next step.... That leaves us with Keenum and ????

 

[GhostOfPoverty]

I don't think he'd be any worse than Keenum, Bradford or Teddy. He's durable. Protects the ball. Accurate, and can throw downfield. Locking up any of the other 3 is too big a gamble and ties the Vikings down. This window isn't going to stay open forever....... guys get banged up, guys move on. The time is now, and most of the picks we have (5 total), are not going to make a big enough impact. If I'm not mistaken, we have around $55 MM or more in cap space this year.... $20 of which, could easily go to Smith, and maybe extend him a year or 2, front loading this upcoming year.

I wouldn't gamble on Bradford's long-term health. I'm not ready to gamble on Teddy taking the next step.... That leaves us with Keenum and ????

Fair enough, but what would it cost to trade for Alex Smith? They can't afford to give too much up and overpay again like they did for Bradford when they're in the final couple years of the current title run window.

 

[Win TWINS!!!]

Fair enough, but what would it cost to trade for Alex Smith? They can't afford to give too much up and overpay again like they did for Bradford when they're in the final couple years of the current title run window.

Looks like we may be too late.

Alex Smith to Washington

 

[GhostOfPoverty]

Looks like we may be too late.

Alex Smith to Washington

I mean Alex Smith wouldn't have been the worst option by any means, but I'm fine with this. I'd rather them try to sign Kirk Cousins than Smith.

I know the idea of bringing in Brees/Cousins (more so Brees) sounds like a pie in the sky concept, but we thought that about the Favre situation before they brought him in too. I'm hoping that Zygi realizes this is another tight window of opportunity to make a legit Superbowl run and goes all in on the QB situation like he did with Favre back in 2009. IMO their only options are to go for a big name signing like one of those two, or bring Keenum back while being super aggressive in free agency to surround him with as much additional support as possible.

 

[GhostOfPoverty]

I'm really curious as to what the Vikings brass thinks about Kyle Sloter. If they actually think highly enough of him as to think of him as a possible future starter, then they could franchise tag Bradford in hopes that Sloter would be ready to take over in the event of Bradford going down.

 

[PnkPanther]

I would be ok with going after Cousins, if not him, Keep case

 

[Win TWINS!!!]

I would be ok with going after Cousins, if not him, Keep case

Not a fan of any QB that isn't of the elite category, on anything longer than 3 years.

 

[Beengay fudgepackers]

Option 1 - Sign Keenum to a 3-year deal, draft a guy in the mid-rounds either this season or next and work on developing him. Invest heavily in the O-line during the offseason.

Option 2 - Sign Bradford to a 2-year deal, otherwise follow the same plan as with Keenum.


I don't really view Bridgewater as a legitimate option. His knee is just as fragile as Bradford's, and he's never shown to be anything beyond a better version of Brett Hundley when he has been healthy.

I never understood why fans of any team want to develop a mid round QB. If you’re going to develop someone to hand the keys to the offense in a few years, i would want it to be the front offices first choice. There are a few diamonds in the rough in the mid rounds, but there are a lot more busts. There are a lot of busts in the first round at QB, but the chance that you end up with a franchise guy is a lot greater than selecting from picked over JAGs in the 3rd round or later.