The Minnesota Vikings find themselves with hope at the quarterback position for the first time since Brett Favre, but could this surplus of talent lead to the team trading a former first-round talent?
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The Vikings drafted Teddy Bridgewater with the No. 32 overall pick in May’s NFL draft and reports out of training camp are promising. Minnesota has stated many times that not only will Bridgewater not start Week 1 for the team, but, barring injuries, the former Louisville star will not play in 2014.
Matt Cassel has seen all of the training camp reps and is expected to be the team’s starting quarterback while Bridgewater is groomed for the throne. What does this mean for former first round pick Christian Ponder? Trade.
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The Vikings didn't use Ponder at all in their 30-28 preseason win again the Cardinals and didn't seem concerned with showcasing him as if they were looking to trade him. If the Vikings choose to trade Ponder, one team that should be the first to pick up the phone is the San Francisco 49ers.
ESPN’s Ben Goessling explains that the 49ers lack of depth behind Colin Kaepernick could prompt another trade seeing how Blaine Gabbert has struggled.
“The 49ers shipped a sixth-round pick in 2014 and a conditional draft choice in 2015 to Jacksonville in exchange for Blaine Gabbert, who was picked two spots ahead of Ponder in the 2012 first round. They also have McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who was the Vikings' third-string quarterback until the team signed Josh Freeman last October. Could San Francisco -- or a team in similar straits -- part with a seventh-round pick for Ponder, whose mediocre career has still featured more success than Gabbert's or Bethel-Thompson’s?”
With the NFL season only weeks away, the 49ers would have to move fast to get Ponder into camp if he is to be of any use. There are few trades in the NFL that make too much sense and a potential Ponder for a seventh round pick is one such trade.
[ESPN]
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