The Minnesota Vikings have followed the 2014 NFL trend by sitting rookie Teddy Bridgewater in favor of veteran Matt Cassel. Cassel will be the Vikings starting quarterback for their Week 1 matchup with the St. Louis Rams.
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Coach Mike Zimmer made the decision official Monday in team meetings and then later to the media. Zimmer stated that despite Bridgewater’s great play, Cassel received most of the first team reps and would be the starter for the time being.
"At this stage and where we're at right now, that's the best thing to do," Zimmer said. "I told Teddy this morning that I'm so happy he's here with us. We like everything that he's done. It wasn't anything that Teddy did or didn't do. Teddy will be, still, in my estimation, a great player for this franchise for years to come.”
The Vikings made it clear even before the draft that they had no desire to start their rookie quarterback right out of the gate. Bridgewater was then drafted with the No. 32 overall pick in May’s NFL Draft and has impressed team officials.
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Zimmer stated that he would hold out Bridgewater for the sake of holding him out and that the position will be judged by performance going forward. Minnesota has a tough early schedule as they face the New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers in the first five weeks of the season.
Minnesota’s bye week is Week 10, followed by a divisional road game agasint the Chicago Bears. If the Vikings’ season starts to head south around the bye week, look for Zimmer to make the change at quarterback and let Bridgewater lead the team for the final seven games of the season.
[ESPN]
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