Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer has said he would like to keep all three of his quarterbacks on the current roster, if possible. Over the past two seasons, Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Bradford, and Case Keenum have started games at quarterback for the Vikings, but all three are set to become free agents on March 14.
In an interview with Eric Goodman and Les Shapiro of Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7, former linebacker and current analyst Ben Leber shed light on the Vikings’ quarterback situation — and discussed the possibility of one of the quarterbacks landing with the Broncos.
When asked if the Vikings are clearing space to make a run at Kirk Cousins, Leber responded, “That is the feeling around town, yes. In the last week or so, the rumors are heating up that they are going to be in the mix, and they are going to throw a lot of money and see if they can get Kirk Cousins to come here.”
Leber also had some thoughts on the quarterback that led the Vikings to the NFC Championship game this past season, Case Keenum. “Is he going to be worth the $28 or $29 million per year that [Cousins] is looking for? Probably not, but I think what’s fair is whatever fair market value is.” Leber added, “I think he wasn’t playing so far above and beyond his capabilities; he was very consistent, he does take some risks, there are going to be some dumb interceptions that he is going to throw, but I do think he has that ‘it’ factor, and I do think the growth factor is still there. He is going to be a really good quarterback.” Leber thinks somebody is going to overpay for Keenum, but believes he will have a nice career over the next five or six years.
Leber shared his thoughts on the prospects of Bridgewater coming to Denver to play for the Broncos, noting, “He (Bill Musgrave) has had some athletic quarterbacks in the past and they have been pretty successful, so I do think he could take somebody like Teddy Bridgewater and make him pretty good and play within the scheme.” Despite some of the deficiencies Leber believes Bridgewater has, such as his accuracy, his downfield passing, and his size, he said, “He’s young, he’s only 24, 25 years old, and he’s still not quite a filled out, mature, adult male -– I think he is going to develop a little bit more. But if you could find some pieces around him, I think that would be a nice, fun fit.”
There is a lot of pressure this offseason for the Broncos and Vikings to pick the right quarterback for the future. In fact, Zimmer even said this week that if he picks the wrong QB, he’ll probably get fired. Sorry – this audio content is no longer available., including who he thinks the best pure passer is out of the Vikings current quarterbacks, or listen to the podcast below.
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