What's Next for the Vikings?

For the second time this summer, a team that had a serious chance of making the playoffs decided to mess with the most important position on the field, quarterback. Following the Denver Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels' brilliant strategy to alienate his starting QB, the Minnesota Vikings decided to let Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels, the two QB's actually on the team, know that the team has no confidence or trust in either of the QB's ability to start in the NFL. For the past month and a half, the Vikings have been courting Favre, the same QB who got tired at the end of last season and blew the season for the New York Jets. The Vikings followed Favre through his shoulder surgery and practices in Mississippi. They sent coaches and coordinators down to Favre's home to watch him throw and make sure he still had it. They even went as far to tell a few team leaders, like outspoken defensive end Jared Allen and starting running back Adrian Peterson, to contact Favre through a phone call or text in an effort to woo him into wearing purple and gold. Unfortunately, despite all their efforts, Favre decided he was too old and tired to go about ruining another team's season and rejected the Viking's offer. This surprising decision has left the Vikings with only two options: go with the duo they were originally going to try before the Favre drama or sign Michael Vick. 

Now, before the courting of Favre, the obvious decision would be to try out a very competent due of Jackson and Rosenfels, who have both shown flashes of starting QB material before. However, with their trust of the team gone and the fact that there is no way either of them can become leaders, it may not be a bad decision to take a gamble and sign Vick. Bringing in new blood is the only viable option at this point, seeing as how leaders of the team, both on offense and defense, have publicly expressed doubt about the much maligned QB duo. Jackson and Rosenfels are in a limbo on this Vikings team, seeing as how they have no place in the GM's eyes or the team's locker room. 

If the Vikings do sign Vick and he shows he can still play the game like he did for Atlanta, there are a few things the team can do. The first is that they can look to trade Jackson. Vick and Jackson play a similar game, wherein they are both undersized but compensate with their mobility in the pocket. Neither are great passers but they are able to make plays with their speed. Unfortunately for Jackson, Vick is better at both aspects of the game. Another option is to keep all three QBs, where they use Jackson for special plays. If this is the route the Vikings take, Jackson can expect to see a huge decline in playing time from last year. 

The Vikings have nothing to lose in their QB situation, as they lost everything already when Favre told them no. Adding Vick to make a trio of Vick, Jackson, and Rosenfels at least adds options to how they work their offense. They can implement the Wildcat formation or use Vick as a tool for trick plays while starting Rosenfels as the main QB. At this point, the Vikings should try anything and that starts with adding a game changer like Vick.

-A.S.